China asks US to release Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife ‘at once’
Beijing (PTI): China on Sunday called on the United States to release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife “at once” and “resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation.”
“China expresses grave concern over the US forcibly seizing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and taking them out of the country”, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement here said.
The move is in clear violation of international law, basic norms in international relations, and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, it said.
“China calls on the US to ensure the personal safety of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, release them at once, stop toppling the government of Venezuela, and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation," it added.
The ministry earlier on Saturday condemned the US airstrikes on Venezuela and the capture of Maduro and his wife, describing it as a hegemonic act that seriously violates international law.
China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the US' blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its President, it said, reacting to a question on US President Donald Trump's announcement about American airstrikes against Venezuela and the capture of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
Such hegemonic acts of the US seriously violate international law and Venezuela's sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region, the ministry said.
"China firmly opposes it. We call on the US to abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and stop violating other countries' sovereignty and security," it said.
The fall of the Maduro government and his capture by the US is regarded as a major setback for Beijing, as it shared close strategic ties with Venezuela from the days of Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez.
Beijing’s strategic partnership with Venezuela in the last two decades was built on political alignment, energy cooperation, and shared opposition to the US and Western influence in Latin America.
During this period, China has become a major buyer of Venezuela's oil despite US sanctions.
It is also Venezuela's major investor and lender, extending tens of billions of dollars in oil-backed loans.
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
