Фото: пресс-служба президента
At the For Spiritual Revival awards ceremony, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said he had acted as an intermediary between Venezuela and the United States. He claimed he had informed the Americans of the Venezuelan authorities’ readiness for cooperation.
“I am only grateful to Donald for openly saying it: oil. We need oil. I say this with pain, because to some extent I was drawn into this situation at the very beginning. And I informed the Americans that the Venezuelans were ready to cooperate with you. There was no need to commit these foolish acts, from which it would be very difficult to get out, very difficult to get out,” he said during his speech.
He also said he had passed messages from Nicolas Maduro and mentioned his meeting with that country’s ambassador to Russia.
“Let us also look at justice: he happened to get decent judges, frankly speaking, and the lawyer as well, you know. But I passed on all the messages from Nicolas Maduro. You saw my meeting with the ambassador of Venezuela to the Russian Federation — he is his supporter, his close associate. They were always together, I also know him well — a military man, dating back to the Chavez era. Everything the Americans wanted could have been done without a seizure. But they had to show their heroism. On whom did you decide to show it? On a defenseless man. They killed all the people who were guarding him, wounded his wife, and seized the man and took him to America. That is great heroism. An empire that spends more than a trillion on weapons, and has armaments worth more than a trillion dollars,” he said.
According to Lukashenka, the detention of Maduro had been preceded by “collusion and betrayal.”
“I want you to understand: everything was there — both agreements and money that had been paid, including to people in Venezuela — both military and civilians. There was collusion there, and there was betrayal — everything was there.
Therefore, we need to be as cautious as possible when conducting negotiations with the Americans; I warned you about this as well — you probably remember it well. I will talk to you — I always told them — but I also warned my elder brother, and directly on the eve of this vile event I said: if only there would not be a spectacle staged by the Americans and the entire West, if only they would not play us once again. And today I am absolutely convinced that this is exactly what happened. Well, why was it necessary to seize him?” he said.
Lukashenka also commented on the seizure of the Venezuela-linked oil tanker Marinera.
“Quite recently, just yesterday, I think, an empty Russian tanker, flying the Russian flag… Well, why was it necessary to do this if you want peace in Ukraine? And many, many thoughts arise after these events. But they have convinced us once again that we must be strong,” he concluded.
Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were detained and taken to the United States on January 3. They appeared before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on January 5. Maduro pleaded not guilty and requested a consular visit. Flores also pleaded not guilty and described herself as Venezuela’s first lady. The next hearing in their case is scheduled for March 17.