CAPE TOWN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- A senior South African government official on Friday stressed the need to ensure that Venezuela's internal affairs is free from outside interference.
"South Africa has maintained its principled position of calling on some countries and regional groups not to interfere in the internal processes of a sovereign state or to be used as a tool for unconstitutional changes of government," Luwellyn Landers, deputy minister of international relations and cooperation, said at a public lecture in Cape Town on South Africa's one-year tenure as a non-permanent member at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Landers said that since his country began its tenure on Jan. 1 this year, the Venezuelan situation is one of the issues that have dominated UNSC discussions, during which South Africa has emphasized the need to address the dire humanitarian situation on the ground through political dialogue, Landers said.
South Africa's approach to Venezuela is premised on support for inclusive political dialogue to resolve the political crisis in the country, and to support any legitimate efforts to provide humanitarian support to alleviate the hardships experienced by the people of Venezuela, said Landers.
Political tensions between the government and opposition groups in Venezuela have been on the rise since President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in to a new term on Jan. 10.
The opposition, which largely boycotted the presidential elections in May, refuses to recognize Maduro's re-election and has been demanding a new round of voting.
The situation has worsened since the United States and other countries in the region, in coordination with the Venezuelan opposition, declared their plan to deliver humanitarian aid into Venezuela on Feb. 23. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened that all options, including a military one, remains open to resolve the Venezuelan issue.
Maduro on Thursday ordered the country's southern border with Brazil be sealed off one day after Caracas suspended aerial and maritime communications with the neighboring islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.
