US to Continue Coordinating With Guaido, Approach to Maduro Has Not Changed, Says State Department

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States will continue coordinating efforts with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as an assembly member to support the country's people, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Tuesday.

"We will continue to coordinate with him as a member of the 2015 National Assembly and with other like-minded democratic actors in Venezuela to support the Venezuelan people and their aspirations for democracy, rule of law and prosperity," Price said at a press briefing. "Our approach to [Venezuelan President] Nicholas Maduro has not changed - he is illegitimate, we support the 2015 National Assembly."

In late December, the Venezuelan opposition supported the elimination of the self-proclaimed "interim government" that Guaido has led since 2019.

Maduro recently said his government is prepared to advance in the process of normalizing political and diplomatic relations with the United States

In January 2019, Venezuela was plunged into a political crisis when the former head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, Guaido, proclaimed himself interim president in a bid to oust re-elected Maduro from power.

The United States and most Western countries endorsed Guaido and imposed crippling sanctions on Venezuela, while Russia, China, Turkey, and several other nations have been supporting Maduro.