The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it welcomed the appointment of Delcy Rodriguez as Venezuela's interim president, adding that Venezuelans should determine their own destiny without outside interference.
Toppled Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty in New York on Monday to narcotics charges after being captured by U.S. special forces in an extraordinary raid that left Venezuelan leaders in Caracas scrambling to regroup.
Moscow's foreign ministry said in a statement that it welcomed the Venezuelan authorities' efforts to protect their sovereignty and national interests.
Rodriguez 'main ally and liaison of Russia,' Machado claims
Venezuela's main opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, claims that Rodriguez is not suited to run Venezuela.
"Delcy Rodriguez, as you know, is one of the main architects of torture, persecution, corruption, narco-trafficking," Machado said. "She's a main ally and liaison of Russia, China, Iran, certainly not an individual who could be trusted by international investors and she's really rejected by the Venezuelan people."
Before her appointment, Rodriguez implicated Israel in the capture of Maduro, saying that the attack had "Zionist undertones."