Venezuela says West wants to ‘dismember’ Russia

“They are lining up, economically, politically, and diplomatically [in the West] for a big war against Russia. From Venezuela, we denounce it,” Maduro said in a televised speech on Friday.

“They want a war to dismember Russia, destroy it in pieces and end the hope of a multipolar world where we can all live.”

The South American country condemned Thursday’s vote in the UN General Assembly to suspend Russia from the global organization’s Human Rights Council. Venezuelan

Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia said the move “destroys bridges” necessary for dialogue and “seriously threatens security, order and global peace.”

The US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Venezuela, hitting its oil industry, among other things. Washington has openly supported Maduro’s political opponent, Juan Guaido, while Maduro accused the West of trying to oust him from power. Many countries, including NATO and EU member states, imposed sanctions on Moscow in response to its military campaign in Ukraine.

Moscow attacked the neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements signed in 2014, and Russia’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French brokered Minsk Protocol was designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.

Russia has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.