Britain Calls for EU Sanctions on Venezuelan President Maduro - Reports

Earlier in the day, the European Parliament announced it is planning to consider a draft resolution on recognising self-proclaimed interim president of Venezuela Juan Guaido as head of the Latin American country.

"Targeted sanctions against the kleptocrats who have enriched themselves on the back of the rest of the population who are very poor, that is something I think can be effective", UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jeremy Hunt stated Thursday during an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Romania, according to Guardian.

READ MORE: UK Foreign Secretary Backs Guaido as 'Right Person to Take Venezuela Forward'

This comes as Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said in an op-ed in The New York Times that he had had secret talks with members of the nation’s military whose support he sees as a key to power.

The situation in Venezuela has deteriorated since the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly Juan Guaido proclaimed himself interim president of the country last week. The US and some other countries immediately recognised Guaido as the head of Venezuela, freezing some of the state’s assets and sanctioning its oil industry.

Meanwhile, the UK, Germany, France, and Spain declared on Saturday their intention to recognise Guaido as the country's interim president if Caracas does not announce snap presidential elections within eight days.