Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday called his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky a “clown” and “harmful” to the Ukrainian people, while endorsing Pope Francis’ recent message on the need for courage to negotiate an end to the war in the European country.
Maduro assured that “the time has come to negotiate peace” in Ukraine, whose president he also called “rude” and “defeated”, and compared him to the former president of the National Assembly (AN, Parliament) Juan Guaidó, whom he considers “harmful” to the Venezuelan people.
He said in his weekly programmme “Con Maduro +”, broadcast on the state channel VTV:
Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, (…) increasingly resembles Guaidó, as clown, as crude and as defeated as Guaidó, as harmful to his people as Guaidó.
He also expressed strong support for “the words and call for peace in Ukraine of Pope Francis,” who said Saturday that the war in Ukraine must have the “courage of the white flag” and “negotiate,” which is a “courageous word” to end the conflict.
The pontiff’s words were sharply criticised in Ukraine, which has called on the Vatican to support the Ukrainian people’s cause.
