Rubio: The United States intends to hold a meeting with Moscow

Marco Rubio. Photo: US State Department
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States still wants to hold a meeting with the Russian side.

"We still want to meet with the Russians," Rubio told reporters, answering a question about new sanctions against Russia and what made US President Donald Trump change his position on the summit with Russia in Budapest.

Earlier, Trump announced that he had canceled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest.

According to the politician, thousands of MANPADS operators can take positions convenient for air defense throughout the country.

"On the last mountain, in the last village and city on the territory of Venezuela, which you cannot imagine, from north to south, from east to west. The motherland must be impregnable. So that no one climbs to Venezuela, because we ourselves do not interfere with anyone," Maduro added.

In September and October, the United States repeatedly used its armed forces to destroy boats off the coast of Venezuela, on which drugs were allegedly transported. The American channel NBC reported that the US armed forces are working on options for striking drug traffickers inside Venezuela, such strikes may begin in a few weeks.

White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said on August 19 that US President Donald Trump was ready to use "all elements of American power" to combat drug trafficking, not ruling out the possibility of a military operation in Venezuela. The statement was made after American warships, including a missile cruiser and a nuclear attack submarine, were sent to the shores of the Bolivarian Republic. Caracas called these steps a provocation and an attempt to destabilize the situation in the region, as well as a violation of international treaties on the demilitarized and nuclear-free status of the Caribbean region.