France will take "all reciprocal measures it deems necessary" following restrictions announced by Venezuela on French, Italian and Dutch diplomats on its territory, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today.
On Tuesday, the Venezuelan government announced the reduction of diplomats from France, Italy and the Netherlands authorized to remain in Caracas due to their "hostile conduct", just days after the inauguration of President Nicolás Maduro for his third term, which was opposed by a large part of the international community.
The Venezuelan government announced in a statement that the measure should be implemented "within 48 hours", claiming that these three member states support "extremist groups" and interfere "in the internal affairs" of the country.
In a statement, France "categorically rejected the allegations of interference made against it", saying it was "committed to maintaining dialogue with all parties in order to facilitate a peaceful solution to the crisis".
On Wednesday, the European Union (EU) called for an immediate reversal of the “unilateral and intolerable” decision by Venezuelan authorities to reduce the number of diplomats accredited in Caracas to three, saying it was further isolating the country and damaging bilateral relations with member states.
Italy also announced that it was summoning Venezuela’s chargé d’affaires to Rome to protest the restrictions, and the Netherlands ordered Venezuela to reduce the number of diplomats accredited in The Hague from four to two in retaliation for Caracas’ decision.
Nicolas Maduro, 62, was declared the winner of Venezuela’s July presidential election with 52% of the vote by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which failed to publish the polling station reports as required by law, claiming it was the victim of hacking. Many observers consider this explanation unlikely.
The United States, the EU, the G7 and several of Venezuela's democratic neighbors have refused to recognize Maduro's re-election, with France, Italy and the Netherlands strongly condemning Maduro's regime.
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