Russia is interested in a peaceful resolution of the Venezuela-US conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS, quoted by BTA.
Reuters also cited his statements, published by the Russian state agency today.
"Of course, we want everything to be in the spirit of peace and for no new conflicts to arise in the region. The world is already full of conflict situations. "We don't need new conflicts," Peskov said in response to a report in the American newspaper "The Washington Post" that, under threat from the United States, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has asked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for missiles, radars and aircraft.
Yesterday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced that Moscow categorically condemns the American "use of excessive military force in actions within the framework of anti-drug operations" in the Caribbean.
The US administration is wrong to plan anti-drug operations in the Caribbean because "the root of the drug problem in the United States is in the United States itself. This was stated by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, TASS reported, quoted by FOCUS.
"The world's attention is currently focused on the northern coast of the South American continent. According to observers, 16,000 troops, eight warships, a nuclear submarine, B-52 strategic bombers and F-35 fighters are preparing for something in the Caribbean. An aircraft carrier strike group led by the flagship USS Gerald R. Ford, three escort ships and 4,000 personnel will soon join the existing group,“ the diplomat wrote on Telegram.
"The officially declared goal is an anti-drug operation. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently stated this. The number of victims of US strikes on ships in the Pacific Ocean is already in the dozens. The Americans are overdoing it to solve this problem. Because the root of the drug problem in the US is in the US itself,“ she added.
The diplomat noted that in the United States in 2023 there were approximately 109,600 drug-related deaths.
"That's 300 deaths a day. Between 1999 and 2020, approximately 841,000 people died from this, with 500,000 of these deaths related to prescription drugs and illegal opioids. The source and cause of this scourge is not in Caracas, but in Washington,“ Zakharova noted.
She added that in the Democratic-run American healthcare system, doctors employed by pharmaceutical corporations prefer to prescribe prescription painkillers of one type or another - opioids - and not drugs, thereby tying the nation to legal drugs.
"In principle, if the Pentagon is going to fight the drug epidemic, it should start with the streets of San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, or even better, with lobbyists and big pharmaceutical companies. But 16,000 soldiers will certainly not be enough. By the way, the smell of marijuana on the streets of New York is not only in the evening, it is everywhere. And this is not only in the city center“, the Russian diplomat summarized.
Washington accuses the Venezuelan authorities of not doing enough to combat drug smuggling. The US Navy has already destroyed at least four motor boats in international waters in the Caribbean Sea, carrying people allegedly smuggling drugs from Venezuela. In his speech to the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, US President Donald Trump said that the armed forces would continue to attack ships that the United States believes are linked to Venezuelan drug cartels led by Maduro.
According to its own calculations, the WP newspaper reported that the US is increasing its military presence off the coast of Venezuela to combat drug trafficking, potentially reaching up to 16,000 troops.