March 9, 2022- 9:33 a.m.
Maduro accuses West of ‘provoking’ Russia over NATO expansion
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro laid the blame for the current Ukraine crisis squarely on the West in a speech Monday:
“Those who provoked this conflict with decades of non-compliance with agreements, with decades of threats against Russia, with decades of preparing plans for the extension of NATO are the first ones who are responsible for de-escalating this conflict.”
Maduro also said Venezuela was “seriously concerned about the possibility of a war in Europe and an extension to other regions of the world,” and criticized “economic measures that aim to aggravate conditions” rather than de-escalate the situation.
