OREANDA-NEWS. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland said that new “painful” sanctions should be imposed against Russia. With such a proposal, she made a congressional hearing. "Nuland called for new painful sanctions against Russia," - writes the Russian media. Assistant Secretary of State stressed that the States need a set of “legal and regulatory penalties” that Washington would apply to Moscow in the event of “hostile actions”.

Nuland also admitted that sanctions could be preventive. "We can not wait until the crime is committed, then to discuss what he may have consequences," - said the American politician. The likelihood of the introduction of new sanctions is due to US dissatisfaction with the Russian presence in Venezuela. The situation in Venezuela escalated on January 23, when, against the backdrop of mass protests, Guaido declared himself interim president. Its legitimacy was recognized by the United States, a number of countries in Latin America and Europe. Russia supported the current president, Nicolas Maduro.

US President Donald Trump called the situation in Venezuela "just awful" and promised that next week "a lot of things will happen." According to him, the American side is considering all options to help local residents. May 1, Pompeo said that Maduro was going to leave Venezuela, but Russia dissuaded him from it. According to him, on the runway there was a plane specially prepared for the president, which was ready to fly to Cuba on the morning of the coup. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova denied this information, saying that Washington is trying to "demoralize the Venezuelan army and is now using fakes as part of the information war."

Earlier, Ambassador of Germany to the United States Emily Haber asked Congress not to introduce new sanctions against Russia. She explained her request by the fact that the next restrictive measures would eventually hit the European economy, reminds Nation News agency.