China has reiterated its demand for the immediate release of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, kidnapped by the US during an illegal military aggression last week.
“No country should put domestic rules above international law. China calls on the US to release president Maduro and his wife at once and ensure their personal safety,” said Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a regular press conference on Tuesday, January 6.
“The US disregards president Maduro’s head of state status, blatantly prosecutes and puts him on so-called ‘trial’ in a domestic court. That seriously violates Venezuela’s national sovereignty and destabilizes international order,” Mao underlined.
In Monday’s court proceedings in New York, Maduro declared that he is a president of a sovereign country, and pleaded not guilty on the charges raised against him. Maduro also asserted that he is a prisoner of war and must be treated accordingly. The Donald Trump administration has accused him and his wife of hatching a “Narco-terrorism conspiracy” against the US.
Reacting to US President Trump’s claims of running Venezuela and controlling its natural resources, Mao reiterated that her country “supports the government and people of Venezuela in safeguarding their sovereignty, security, and legitimate rights and interests.”
China also “firmly supports regional countries in upholding the status of Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace,” she said.
China insisted that “all countries should respect the development paths chosen by the people of other countries, and abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN charter.”
Read more: Popular movements and workers across Asia condemn US aggression in Venezuela
In answering a question about sanctions on the US, China called on the UN Security Council to carry out its primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security.
China accused that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the US has disregarded the grave concerns of the international community and trampled on Venezuela’s sovereignty, security, and lawful rights and interests.
US actions threaten international order
During an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council held on Monday, several participating countries, including Russia, China, Iran, Cuba, South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico, condemned the US aggression on Venezuela, calling it a blatant violation of the UN charter.
The US actions may set a dangerous precedent in international politics and set the wrong example of “how relations between and among states are conducted,” claimed UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a speech read on his behalf during the discussion.
The emergency meeting was called on the request of Colombia.
Venezuela’s ambassador to the UN, Sam Moncada, rejected US accusations against Maduro and his wife and questioned the legality behind its military action. He asserted that despite American actions, Venezuela remains politically stable and its government enjoys full control over the territories of the nation.
Read more: The current situation in Venezuela: a government in charge, a people resilient
Speaking in the discussion, Russian ambassador Vasily Nebenzya condemned the US act, underlining that it cannot act as some kind of supreme judge in international politics.
The US cannot have the exclusive right to invade any country, accuse them of whatever crimes and hand down arbitrary punishments in complete violation of all existing norms and laws in international politics, Nebenzya argued.
Russia also demanded immediate release of Maduro and his wife and called for full respect of Venezuelan sovereignty.
Jonathan Passmoor, South Africa’s representative, called for accountability from the US, claiming that failure to take action against such blatant violations of international law invites the mainstreaming of “anarchy, normalization of use of force and military might” in international politics.
Even France, a close ally of the US and a NATO member, claimed that US attack on Venezuela and kidnapping of president Maduro “contravenes the principles of peaceful settlements of disputes and non-use of force” and undermines the “very foundations of the international order”.
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