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EU rules out Venezuela sanctions for now

10 March 2015, 15:28 CET

(BRUSSELS) - The EU has no plans to follow the US lead and impose sanctions against Venezuela but is closely watching a government crackdown on the opposition, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

US President Barack Obama on Monday ordered new sanctions against senior Venezuelan officials, sparking a furious reaction from Caracas which recalled its envoy in Washington.

"We are following the situation in Venezuela quite closely (but)... no we are currently not considering restrictive measures," European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic told reporters.

"Venezuela is confronted by political challenges, by serious economic and security problems (which) need to be addressed," Kocijancic said.

The European Union had expressed its concern in the past and called on all parties to work together, avoiding violence, she added.

In December, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on Venezuela to withdraw arrest warrants against opposition figures and to disarm and dissolve pro-government associations.

Venzuela rejected that vote outright, saying the resolution was "interventionist and deeply disrespectful."

Euro MPs plan another resolution vote on Thursday to condemn human rights abuses in Venezuela and call on EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini to take a harder line with Caracas.

Venezuela sees the US sanctions as part of attempts to overthrow left-wing President Nicolas Maduro, charging that Washington wants to rid Latin America of leftist governments.

Cuba joined the fray Tuesday when it said it would give "unconditional support" to Venezuela in response to the US sanctions, even as the Communist hold-out negotiates its own normalisation of relations with Washington.

The EU meanwhile held a third round of difficult talks with Cuba last week on repairing ties frozen since 2005 after Brussels demanded Havana meet international human rights standards.


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