Lavrov said there was no justification for the US strikes on Venezuela.

There can be no justification for what happened in Caracas on January 3, it is a blatant and cynical violation of international law. This was announced on February 2 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"The kidnapping of Venezuelan President [Nicolas Maduro] sets a serious and dangerous precedent: US President Donald Trump himself said bluntly that he did not care about international law, as well as the opinion of the United Nations," he was quoted as saying on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Lavrov also called on the American leadership to release the legitimately elected President Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores. He added that Moscow confirms its continued support for the constitutional authorities.

The Russian Foreign Minister noted that Russia sees attempts by Caracas to develop a new model of relations with the United States that would take into account Venezuela's sovereignty and national interests.

"Venezuela should be guaranteed the right to determine its own fate," Lavrov stressed.

Contact base: The United States failed to force Venezuela to cease cooperation with Russia

What are the prospects for the development of joint projects between Moscow and Caracas

Russian Ambassador to Caracas Sergey Melik-Baghdasarov said on January 25 that Maduro, abducted by the US Armed Forces, could have become a victim of betrayal by some of the republic's security forces. According to him, individuals systematically cooperated with the American special services, adding that we are talking about specific people who left the territory of Venezuela.

On January 25, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov announced that Russia was maintaining its previous position regarding the US actions to detain Maduro. He added that from the first hours after the information about the incident appeared, Moscow raised the issue of the need to release the Venezuelan leader.

Prior to that, on January 13, American leader Donald Trump, commenting on a large-scale strike on Venezuela, called this operation, during which Maduro and his wife were captured on January 3, "the most impeccable" and "brilliant."

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