Mexico, Uruguay urge Venezuela talks, Russia agrees

Mexico and Uruguay are pushing back on the US-supported political transition underway in Venezuela, asserting a "neutral" stance endorsed by Russia.

Taking a divergent stance from most of their neighbors,the two Latin American countries plan to hold a conference of like-minded countries and international organizations in Montevideo on 7 February to "establish a new mechanism for dialogue," Uruguay´s foreign ministry said late yesterday.

Mexico´s new president Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador said the Mexican position on Venezuela reflects the country´s "political tradition" of non-intervention. Mexico is a key non-Opec oil producer, while Venezuela is a founding member of Opec.

Most of the rest of Latin America, along with the US and Canada, have recognized Juan Guaidó as the legitimate interim president of Venezuela since last week. Guaidó this week named ambassadors to the US and the Lima Group countries that include the largest South American countries and Canada.

Nicolas Maduro is still recognized as president by Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Trinidad and Tobago, among others.

US oil sanctions unveiled on 28 January are aimed at forcing Maduro to step aside. Supported by senior military that control large parts of the economy, Maduro has vowed to stay in power.

In comments yesterday, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov denounced western encouragement of the opposition´s "destructive stance" toward mediation in a "neutral and balanced format".

A Russian foreign ministry spokesperson was more forceful in remarks today.

"Not everyone is ready to blindly follow Washington's recipes for stabilizing Venezuela. Most states are respecting sovereignty and independence," the spokesperson said.

"Soon enough the oil, which Washington has forbidden to buy from Maduro's legitimate government, will be spilled into the sea….This looks like a massive sabotage of political dimension, hitting not only geopolitics of international relations, but also the environment."

The US sanctions on Venezuela´s state-owned PdV will block US purchases of Venezuelan crude and immediately prohibit US sales of diluent to Venezuela. The sanctions framework redirects any sales revenue and PdV assets in the US into escrow accounts for the benefit of the emerging Guaidó administration.

Critics say Uruguay´s decision to resist efforts to remove Maduro stems from past business ties between the family of president Tabaré Vasquez and the government of Venezuela´s long-serving late president Hugo Chavez, who anointed Maduro as his successor before his 2013 death. The Uruguayan presidency has not commented.