Moscow, April 2 (RHC)-- A Senior Russian official has reacted to threats by the United States for imposing sanctions on Moscow over its cooperation with the Venezuelan government, saying those threats show Washington has failed in its plan to carry out a “speedy coup” in the South American country.

 In a statement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed Washington for its “ridiculous attempts to intimidate” Moscow over its legitimate defense cooperation with Venezuela, saying such sharp reactions were connected to the fact that Washington’s “planned speedy coup in Caracas has not succeeded.”

 Zakharova further urged the U.S. to refrain from hampering Venezuela’s economy for its own political objectives while warning that such moves would push the South American nation toward civil war.  "For our part, we can only recommend that the US stop threatening Venezuela, smothering its economy and pushing it to civil war, in open violation of international law,” said Zakharova.

 The comments come after U.S. authorities warned they would impose sanctions on Russia over its decision to send military specialist to the Venezuela.  Russia says it will keep the roughly 100 servicemen it sent to Venezuela over the weekend.  Zakharova defended dispatching the specialists as legitimate, saying U.S. authorities were wrong to depict the move as a military intervention.

 “The Russian side clearly stated the purpose of the arrival of its specialists to Caracas. This is not about any ‘military contingents’,” she said in a statement, adding: “Thus, the speculations about the conduct of certain ‘military operations’ by Russia in Venezuela are absolutely groundless.”

 Russia has previously objected to U.S. moves to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as president, saying Moscow will continue to support the democratically-elected government led by President Nicolas Maduro in the face of Washington’s threats.