Venezuela’s self-proclaimed interim president, Juan Guaido, coordinates his every step with a foreign country and Moscow sees no point in communicating with a dependent figure, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

When Guaido declared himself the interim president of Venezuela in late January, Moscow slammed the actions of the speaker of the opposition-dominated National Assembly as “an attempt to usurp power.” It insisted that no one but democratically-elected president Nicolas Maduro could be the legitimate leader of the country.

The latest comment comes from the head of the Foreign Ministry’s Latin American Department, Alexander Schetinin, and it’s the first time that Russia has directly spoken out about the poster-boy of the attempted coup in Venezuela.

Our analysis of the situation indicates that Guaido is an absolutely non-independent politician.

“He coordinates his every step and receives a blessing for it from another country. Due to this fact, we don’t see any point in communicating with him,” Schetinin pointed out.

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He didn’t specify what he meant by “another country,” but Guaido’s claim to power was vigorously supported by Washington, which swiftly declared him a legitimate interim president.

UK, France, Spain, and several other EU states followed the US example, but the opposition leader still lacks a bloc-wide endorsement, due to Italy’s stance. Russia denounced the move as “direct interference” in Venezuela’s internal affairs. Guaido was also rejected by China, Iran, and Turkey.

Despite making headlines worldwide, Guaido is a relatively new face on Venezuela’s political landscape. Many Venezuelans say they first heard of him when he declared himself president, while some of the foreign leaders, who endorse the man, are unable to pronounce his name correctly.

Media reports suggest that long-time opposition figure, with strong links to the US, Leopoldo Lopez, is the real mastermind here, despite remaining under house arrest in Caracas for provoking deadly clashes at an anti-government protest a few years ago.

Also on rt.com From zero to hero: How Venezuelan opposition leader Lopez made Juan Guaido the man of the day

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