Get out of Venezuela, Trump warns Russia; says ‘all options’ open to make it happen

Washington, March 28: As the political crisis thickens in Venezuela with the arrival of Russian troops outside Caracas on Saturday, March 23, US President Donald Trump has asked the Kremlin to pull out its troops from the Latin American nation and also warned about availability of "all options" to make that happen.

Two Russian air force aircraft arrived in Venezuela last week carrying nearly 100 troops, escalating an already grave political situation in the state.

The world has remained divided over backing the embattled president of Venezuela - Nicolas Maduro - who came to power for the second term last year.

While the US and many other western and Latin American nations have opposed Maduro and backed Opposition leader Juan Guaido who claimed himself to be the interim president in January, countries like Russia, China and Turkey have thrown their weights behind Maduro.

Moscow has bilateral relations with Caracas that it eyes to honour and has defied Trump's warning.

In a tweet, Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy said in response to Trump's words: "It's not up to US to decide actions and fate of other countries. It's only up to the people of Venezuela and its only legitimate President Nicolas Maduro."

The Venezuelan president said a high-profile intergovernmental meeting between Moscow and Caracas will be held in April. He said the two sides are also planning to sign nearly 20 pacts in domains like economy, energy, education and trade, Al Jazeera reported.

Maduro, who stopped international aid from entering Venezuela recently fearing that the West could plot to topple him in the name of providing aid, said his country was awaiting more humanitarian aid from Russia, the report added.