France, Spain, Sweden and the UK announced Monday that they are recognising Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's interim president after an eight-day deadline for President Nicolas Maduro to call elections were not met.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told reporters in Madrid on Monday that: "We are working for the return of full democracy in Venezuela: human rights, elections and no more political prisoners."
"I recognise the president of Venezuela's assembly, Mr. Juan Guaido, as president in charge of Venezuela," Sanchez said in a televised statement.
This echoed the words of other Western European countries like France, after an eight-day deadline they set on January 26 for Maduro to call elections has not been met.
French President Emmanuel Macron said, “Venezuelans have the right to express themselves freely and democratically. France recognises @jguaido as “acting president” to implement an electoral process,” in a tweet posted Monday.
Les Vénézuéliens ont le droit de s’exprimer librement et démocratiquement. La France reconnaît @jguaido comme « président en charge » pour mettre en œuvre un processus électoral. Nous soutenons le Groupe de contact, créé avec l’UE, dans cette période de transition.
Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 4, 2019
Britain echoed the move Monday with British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt noting that, the "UK alongside European allies now recognises @jguaido as interim constitutional president until credible elections can be held", in a Twitter post.
Nicolas Maduro has not called Presidential elections within 8 day limit we have set. So UK alongside European allies now recognises @jguaido as interim constitutional president until credible elections can be held. Let’s hope this takes us closer to ending humanitarian crisis
Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) February 4, 2019
The other major EU countries to recognise Guaido include Germany, Portugal, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and the Netherlands.
Maduro has so far rejected calls by European countries to call an early election.
Guaido calls for Italy’s backing
Italy however was noticeably silent on its Venezuela policy due to splits within the government, prompting Guaido on Monday to call for Rome’s backing.
"We'll do everything possible so that the Italian government adds its support – which is very important for us – to that expressed by the rest of the European Union," Guaido told the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella – who plays a mainly ceremonial role – urged the government to hammer out its differences and express support for Guaido.
"We must demonstrate responsibility and clarity with a common line taken by all our EU partners and allies," Mattarella said at an event in Rome on Monday.
Venezuelans of Italian origin are a large and influential group in the South American country.
Alessandro Di Battista, a prominent figure in the 5-Star Movement, which makes up half of Italy’s ruling coalition, has said the movement “will never recognise people who appoint themselves president".
However the 5-Star's governing partner, the League, has come out strongly in favour of Guaido.
A defiant Maduro
In an interview with a Spanish TV station Sunday, a defiant Maduro said he would not "cave in to pressure" from those calling for his departure.
"Why does the European Union have to tell a country in the world that has already had elections that it has to repeat its presidential elections, because they were not won by their right-wing allies," said Maduro, interviewed in Caracas.
"They are trying to corner us with ultimatums to force us into an extreme situation of confrontation," Maduro said.
This comes as the European Union says that a newly formed "International Contact Group" of European and Latin American countries will hold its first meeting in Uruguay on Thursday to address the Venezuela crisis.
Trump says sending military ‘an option’
A joint statement from EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez on Sunday said that the meeting in Montevideo will be held at ministerial level.
The contact group includes the EU and eight of its member countries – France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Britain – as well as Latin American nations Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Uruguay.
Its stated aim is "contributing to create conditions for a political and peaceful process to emerge, enabling Venezuelans to determine their own future" through free and credible elections.
For his part, US President Donald Trump has said that sending the military to Venezuela was "an option" and that he had turned down Maduro's request for a meeting.
"Certainly, it's something that's on the – it's an option," Trump said in an interview with CBS to be broadcast on Sunday.
But Maduro, who has overseen an economic collapse and the exodus of millions of Venezuelans, still maintains the powerful backing of Russia, China and Turkey, and the critical support of the military.
Russia, a major creditor to Venezuela in recent years, quickly urged restraint.
"The international community's goal should be to help [Venezuela], without destructive meddling from beyond its borders," Alexander Shchetinin, head of the Latin America department at Russia's Foreign Ministry, told Interfax.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)
