Juan Guaido

Greece's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Friday saying that the government has recognized Juan Guaido as president of Venezuela, supporting his call "for free, fair and democratic presidential elections."

US Vice President Mike Pence and National Security Adviser John Bolton hailed Greece's decision to recognize Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim president on Friday.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Friday thanked Greek Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the new government for recognizing his as the interim president of his country.
"Greece, the cradle of democracy, will undoubtedly be a great European ally in our struggle," Guaido said in a tweet, commenting on the Greek announcement earlier this morning.

Five months after the European Parliament and a large number of EU countries decided to recognise Juan Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela, Greece under the new government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis has followed suit.

In a statement on Friday, the Greek Foreign Ministry said the government recognized Juan Guaido as president of Venezuela "in order for him to call for free, fair and democratic presidential elections."

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido renewed calls for President Nicolas Maduro to resign on May 31 while campaigning in the birthplace of former leader Hugo Chavez, following inconclusive talks in Norway to end the country's crisis.    

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido vowed to press ahead with street protests after talks with government officials hosted by Norway ended on May 29 without progress towards resolving the South American country's long-running political crisis.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on May 20 proposed early elections for the National Assembly, which is headed by opposition leader Juan Guaido and is the sole body recognized as democratically legitimate by most Western nations.

Lawmakers entered congress on May 15, a day after opposition leader Juan Guaido accused Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro's government of trying to "gag" the legislature after it was blocked by security forces.

The deputy to Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido was jailed on May 10 at a military prison in Caracas following his dramatic arrest, while President Nicolas Maduro accused his sacked intelligence chief of being a CIA "mole" and the architect of a failed military uprising 10 days ago.