U.S. envoy Elliott Abrams says the Trump administration will seek a U.N. Security Council vote this week on a resolution calling for Venezuela's government to let in humanitarian aid and to hold free elections.

Speaking to reporters ahead of a council meeting called by the U.S., Abrams said Tuesday that socialist President Nicolas Maduro "has destroyed the economy of Venezuela and prevented humanitarian aid from arriving."

Abrams says that "the solution to the humanitarian situation is to get a government that works for rather than against the people of Venezuela."

Russia has accused the U.S. of interfering in Venezuela's affairs, and Abrams declines to predict whether Moscow will veto the resolution. But he says "it would be shameful to veto a resolution that calls for humanitarian aid."