Following the US military operation in Caracas and the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said his country does not recognise Maduro as legitimate president.
“Lithuania has not recognised Nicolas Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela,” Budrys said in a post on X. He added that Maduro’s government has supported Russia’s war against Ukraine and has maintained close ties with Iran and Cuba.
Budrys said Lithuania is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela in coordination with international partners and allies, stressing that any further actions must comply with international law.
On Monday, Budrys said US actions in Venezuela should not be compared to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking at a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Budrys said Russia’s actions toward its neighbours represent a fundamentally different situation.
“When we talk about Russia’s actions toward its neighbours, especially toward Ukraine and the full-scale invasion in 2022, we see that a legitimately elected Ukrainian government, which posed no threat to its neighbours, became the target of a full-scale military invasion,” Budrys said. “For that reason alone, nothing here can be compared.”
Budrys said Russia has committed “mass violations of international law in Ukraine, beginning with the gravest violation of international law, the crime of aggression against a neighbouring state”.
Earlier, Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry told BNS that it had received no requests for assistance from Lithuanian citizens in Venezuela and had no information indicating that any Lithuanians had been harmed. The ministry said it has strongly advised against travel to the South American country since December 9.
Lithuania, like the rest of the European Union, has rejected the results of Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election and considers Maduro’s claim to a new term illegitimate, the ministry said.
On Saturday, the United States said it carried out airstrikes across Venezuela following months of mounting military and economic pressure, declaring that Maduro’s authoritarian government had been toppled. American forces abducted President Maduro and his wife and brought them to the US.
Venezuela’s government condemned what it called an “extremely serious military aggression” by Washington and declared a state of emergency.
US President Donald Trump has ramped up aggressive rhetoric against the Venezuelan government in recent months, accusing it of trafficking drugs to the United States. The US has bombed several Venezuelan ships in the Carribean Sea, alleging they were transporting drugs but not providing any evidence. Attacking ships that do not pose any immediate threat is a crime.
Following Sunday's attack on Venezuela, President Trump indicated he was interested in the country's oil reserves. In a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, the US president claimed the US would “run” the country for now and “take out a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground”.
A number of countries, though not the European Union or most of its member states, have condemned the US abduction of the Venezuelan leader as a blatant violation of international law.
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