Medvedev called Maduro's abduction and indictment a violation of international rights.

The US military's seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his indictment is a blatant violation of the principles of international law. Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, wrote about this in his article for RIA Novosti on February 5.

"The seizure, exportation from the country, as well as the presentation of charges of "drug terrorism" by American Femida to a person who enjoys immunity from both civil and criminal jurisdiction of other states, is nothing more than a blatant violation of the fundamental principles of international law - the sovereign equality of states and non—interference in internal affairs. Any discussion on this issue is impossible by definition," the text says.

It also notes that the notion of absolute immunity of State leaders was confirmed in the 2002 ruling of the International Court of Justice of the United Nations (UN) in the case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Belgium. It was also spelled out in the decision that the judicial authorities made during the trial of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in France in 1999-2000.

Medvedev also added in his article that the unfounded behavior of the American side can be confirmed by referring to the conclusions of the International Law Commission of the UN General Assembly (GA). He explained that there are cases in which functional immunity, called ratione materiae, is proposed not to be used. The list listed by the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation includes the following crimes: crime of genocide; crime against humanity; war crimes; crime of apartheid; torture; enforced disappearance; crime of aggression; slavery; slave trade.

"As can be seen, there is no question of any "drug trafficking" as a basis for ignoring the functional immunity of state officials, much less the absolute immunity of the current head of state at this stage," he concluded.

The abyss of captivity: how and why the United States captured the president of Venezuela

Washington's actions have been condemned in many countries around the world, and an unprecedented operation could result in a military confrontation in the region.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on January 15 that the kidnapping of the Venezuelan president violates the international legal obligations of the United States. According to her, the arguments that Maduro allegedly lost his immunity cannot be taken into account, since the politician was removed from his post during an illegal military operation.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on January 25 that Russia had not changed its position on the issue. He recalled that in the first hours after it became known about the incident, Moscow raised the issue of the need to release Maduro.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said on February 2 that there could be no justification for what happened in Caracas on January 3, and added that it was a blatant and cynical violation of international law.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.