Vietnam Voices Deep Concern Over Venezuela Situation, Urges Respect for International Law
Hanoi, The Gulf Observer: Việtnam said late Saturday that it is deeply concerned about reports related to the current situation in Venezuela and called on all parties to respect international law and the United Nations Charter.
Responding to media queries regarding reports of a United States strike on Venezuelan territory, Phạm Thu Hằng, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Việtnam, said that Việtnam “calls on all relevant parties to respect international law and the United Nations Charter, including the principle of respect for national sovereignty, and to refrain from the use or threat of force in international relations.”
In a statement, Việtnam also urged all concerned sides to exercise restraint, engage in dialogue, and resolve disputes and differences on the basis of international law, thereby contributing to the maintenance of peace, security, stability, and cooperation in the region and around the world.
Amid increasingly complex developments in Venezuela that pose potential risks to personal safety, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier advised Vietnamese citizens to carefully consider travel to Venezuela at this time. Vietnamese nationals currently in the country were urged to leave dangerous areas, closely monitor developments, and strictly comply with local authorities’ regulations on movement, as well as advisories issued by the Ministry’s Consular Department and the Embassy of Việt Nam in Venezuela.
Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency’s correspondent in Latin America, Ambassador of Việtnam to Venezuela Vũ Trung Mỹ said the Vietnamese Embassy in Caracas has established an emergency communication channel to closely monitor developments following the reported US attack. He confirmed that 29 staff members of Vietnamese representative offices and their family members, along with two Vietnamese construction engineers working in Venezuela and two overseas Vietnamese citizens, are all safe.
The citizen protection hotline in Venezuela is (+58) 424 221 1016.
Việtnam and Venezuela have long enjoyed a warm traditional relationship, with leaders of both countries frequently reaffirming their determination to uphold and promote the legacy of friendship built by late President Hugo Chávez and nurtured by successive generations of leaders.
Tensions between the United States and Venezuela have escalated in recent months, with Washington deploying military forces to the Caribbean Sea and waters off the Venezuelan coast, citing efforts to combat drug trafficking.
On January 3, US President Donald Trump claimed that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had been “captured” and removed from Venezuela following what he described as a large-scale US attack on the capital, Caracas.
