Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to try to justify his support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who faces Western diplomatic pressure, at a time when several countries quickly recognized the leader of the opposition, Juan Guido as president.
In a televised speech Tuesday, Erdogan accused the European Union of seeking to overthrow Maduro at the expense of "democracy".
"On the one hand, you talk about elections and democracy, and then you try to overthrow a government through violence and fraud," he said in reference to the European Union.
The statement came just hours after countries in Europe (Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands) announced their recognition of Guaydou after the eight-day deadline set by President Maduro last week to call for new elections.
"The EU did not have the right to say to a country that held elections that it should re-run presidential elections because its right-wing allies did not win," Maduro said in an interview in Caracas.
In response to the European move on Monday, Russia described the move as foreign interference and said the Venezuelan people should be allowed to solve their internal problems.
Researchers have speculated that Ankara's recent standoff with the Venezuela crisis could widen the gap between President Erdogan and his traditional allies in the West.
The spokesman for the Turkish president, Ibrahim Kalin, used the tag "Hastag" (we Maduro), which widely circulated among users of social platforms in Turkey.
