Moscow, August 1 (RHC)-- Russia has announced that it will not attend a meeting sponsored by the so-called Lima Group to discuss Venezuela.  Recently, Peru invited China, Russia, Cuba and the United States -- among other countries -- to discuss the situation in Venezuela in Lima on August 6th.

In a statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow said it would not be participating in international talks on the political crisis in Venezuela.  It said it declined the invitation as one was not extended to representatives of the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, among other concerns.

"We doubt that a meeting focusing on the situation in Venezuela without inviting Venezuelans, represented by Nicolas Maduro's governement and other political forces, would be the correct thing to do," read the communique.  They added that such initiative would not contribute to the dialogue between the government and the opposition mediated by Norway in Barbados.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated his country's support for negotiations initiated in Olso at the BRICS Foreign Affairs ministerial meeting held in Rio de Janeiro last week.