The European Union, particularly Spain, categorically rejects a military intervention in Venezuela as an option to solve the crisis in the Latin American country, Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said on Monday.
“For us, the European Union, particularly Spain, military invasion is excluded, we would not support it in any case,” Borrell told reporters, upon arrival in Brussels for a EU-League of Arab States ministerial meeting.
Earlier in the day, Spain, as well as Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the United Kingdom recognized Juan Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled Venezuelan National Assembly, as Venezuela’s interim president. The moves came as the deadline set by the European Union for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to announce snap presidential election elapsed on Sunday.
EU countries were expected to recognize Guaido in a joint statement, but, according to a comment of a diplomatic source in Brussels to Sputnik, Italy blocked the statement.
Tensions in Venezuela escalated two weeks ago when Guaido declared himself interim president, disputing last year’s re-election of Maduro. The opposition leader was almost immediately recognized by the United States and several other countries. Russia, China, Mexico, Turkey and Uruguay were among those that have voiced their support for Maduro as the country’s legitimately-elected president.