MOSCOW — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sharply criticised the United States and its allies on Tuesday, accusing them of double standards following the U.S. military’s seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores earlier this month.
Speaking alongside his Namibian counterpart, Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, after a meeting in Moscow, Lavrov said his views reflected those of “the overwhelming majority of states in the global South and East,” who see Washington’s actions as proof of its disregard for international law.
“Only Western Europeans and other Washington allies are timidly trying to avoid making principled assessments,” Lavrov said.
He further accused the U.S. of abandoning the very principles it once promoted.
“The United States now appears unreliable, having discarded its own commitments to sovereignty and non-interference,” he added.
Russia had previously denounced the January 3 U.S. military operation in Caracas as an “act of armed aggression.” The attack reportedly knocked out power in parts of the Venezuelan capital and struck multiple military installations before U.S. forces captured Maduro and Flores.
Both are now being held in New York, where they have pleaded not guilty to narco-terrorism and other charges, according to court filings. The operation marks an unprecedented escalation in U.S.-Venezuelan relations, which had been strained for years over allegations of corruption, human rights abuses, and drug trafficking linked to senior Venezuelan officials.
Lavrov’s comments reflect Moscow’s broader effort to rally opposition to what it portrays as U.S. “neo-colonial” interventions, particularly in Latin America and Africa, where Russia has sought to expand its diplomatic and security influence.
