Poland recognises Guaidó as interim Venezuela president

The Polish foreign ministry said in a statement: “Poland acknowledges Mr. Juan Guaidó, President of the democratically elected National Assembly, as interim President of Venezuela, in order for him to call for free, fair and democratic presidential elections.”

The Polish foreign ministry added: “We reaffirm our support [for] the National Assembly and its President. We also reiterate the position of the EU that the fundamental freedoms of the Venezuelan people must be respected and [that] any actions undermining [the] democratic mandate of the National Assembly should be avoided.”

The move comes after Venezuela’s socialist ruler Nicolás Maduro failed to call early presidential elections despite urging from the European Union of which Poland is part, the foreign ministry in Warsaw said.

Spain, France, Britain, Sweden, Portugal, Austria, Denmark, Latvia, Germany, the Netherlands and Lithuania were among other EU member states that recognised Guaidó as the interim president of Venezuela on Monday, Poland’s PAP news agency reported.

Guaidó leads Venezuela's opposition-controlled National Assembly. He declared himself the country's interim leader last month, dividing the international community and inspiring street protests against Maduro, who became president of the oil-rich nation in 2013.

Poland’s foreign ministry last month called for “the respect of fundamental civic freedoms” in Venezuela.

(gs/pk)

Source: gov.pl, PAP