Russia's former president and current prime minister challenged Donald Trump for backing a foreign coup — by pointing out how outrageous it would be if the same happened in the United States.
Newsweek reported Thursday that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvdev took to Twitter to acknowledge Trump's hypocrisy in acknowledging Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's "interim president" — a title he gave himself amid mass protests of the country's socialist President Nicolás Maduro.
"How would the American people respond, for example, to the Speaker of the US House of Representatives declaring herself the new president against the backdrop of the government shutdown?" the Russian prime minister tweeted. "But when it happens somewhere else, this is viewed as common practice."
How would the American people respond, for example, to the Speaker of the US House of Representatives declaring her… https://t.co/xN7baPMXOF— Dmitry Medvedev (@Dmitry Medvedev) 1548342357.0
Medvedev's comments came after he suggested Guaidó had committed a coup.
"We are witnessing as yet another head of state is being unconstitutionally 'elected' by the crowd out there in the streets," he tweeted, "and a number of heads of state support this quasi government coup. They were very quick to respond, as if on cue."
"No one has the right to illegally remove from power the head of state who has just won an election, regardless of whether some countries or political forces like him as a person or not," Medvedev added.
We are witnessing as yet another head of state is being unconstitutionally “elected” by the crowd out there in the… https://t.co/lGe1tcECVB— Dmitry Medvedev (@Dmitry Medvedev) 1548341926.0
No one has the right to illegally remove from power the head of state who has just won an election, regardless of w… https://t.co/uSI9fwdGcz— Dmitry Medvedev (@Dmitry Medvedev) 1548341896.0
He went on to call for other countries to impose sanctions as the Venezuelan government attempts to restore order in the midst of a "continuing breakdown of international law."
Venezuela is experiencing the continuing breakdown of international law. It is obvious that the country is in extre… https://t.co/3tQsYAUZJw— Dmitry Medvedev (@Dmitry Medvedev) 1548341858.0
