Russia says Venezuela crisis must be resolved peacefully

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a meeting with his Bolivian counterpart Fernando Huanacuni Mamani in Moscow, Russia August 16, 2017. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday stressed the need to resolve the crisis in Venezuela peacefully and without external intervention. "We are united in the need to rapidly overcome the disagreements that exist in that country exclusively in a peaceful manner, through national dialogue without any kind of pressure from the outside, without speaking of the unacceptable threats of military interference in the country's internal affairs," Lavrov said following talks with Bolivian counterpart Fernando Huanacuni Mamani. Lavrov's comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened a possible armed intervention in the South American country, prompting Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to call for military exercises. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber)