MOSCOW, Russia.- Russia denounced the Venezuelan opposition negotiations with the U.S. Southern Command to attempt an overthrow of the legitimate government of Nicolas Maduro.

The spokesperson for the Russian chancellery, Maria Zajarova, referred to Carlos Vecchio, an aide to Deputy opposition Juan Guaido, who published a letter on Twitter addressed to the head of the Southern Command, Craig Faller.

Vecchio refers to the planning and strategy of operations to put an end to the suffering of the Venezuelan people, and restore democracy, in a repetition of the rhetoric employed by the opposition.

We call on all responsible politicians in Venezuela to abide only by the political methods in the internal dispute, Zajarova said and added we consider inadmissible the steps taken to provoke a civil war, and attempts to forcibly overthrow a legitimate President.