UPDATE - Turkey concerned over latest situation in Venezuela

ADDS BACKGROUND

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey on Tuesday expressed concern over the attempts against the constitutional order in Venezuela.

"Concerned about news that there are some attempts against the constitutional order in #Venezuela. Oppose attempts to change legitimate governments via non-democratic means,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a Twitter post.

Cavusoglu said Turkey was in favor of settling issues in the country through dialogue and that his country stood with the people of Venezuela.

His remarks came after Venezuelan Vice President Jorge Rodriguez said Tuesday that a group of soldiers self-deployed on the Altamira distributor road, close to La Carlota military air base, for an uprising against the Constitution and peace of the country.

Earlier, opposition leader Juan Guaido released a video on Twitter in which he could be seen alongside soldiers, calling for an uprising to end the "usurpation" of President Nicolas Maduro.

"The National Armed Forces have made the right decision, they have the support of the Venezuelan people," Guaido said.

Guaido also called on the public to take to the streets to support "democratic forces" and "restore country's freedom."

Maduro, for his part, called for people to take to the streets to "protect the homeland and constitutional order" amid reports of the coup attempt in the country.

Venezuela has been rocked by protests since Jan. 10, when Maduro was sworn in for a second term following a vote boycotted by the opposition.

Tensions escalated when Guaido, who heads Venezuela’s National Assembly, declared himself acting president on Jan. 23, a move which was supported by the U.S. and many European and Latin American countries.