Ottawa suspends the work of the Embassy in Venezuela, said Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Reuters reported.

The minister linked this decision to the expiration of visas for Canadian diplomats at the end of June.

“Unfortunately, at the end of this month, Canadian diplomats in Venezuela will no longer be in a position to obtain diplomatic accreditation under the Maduro regime, and their visas will expire,” Freeland said in the statement. “Therefore, we are left with no choice but to temporarily suspend our operations at the embassy of Canada to Venezuela, effective immediately.

The current president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, is considered legitimate by Russia, China, Cuba and Mexico. The US, Canada, many Latin American countries, including Brazil and Argentina, and most of the EU countries support opposition leader Juan Guaido. Mr. Maduro said that he would not leave the post until the expiration of his term in 2025.

Last week, Juan Guaido, in an interview with The Washington Post, acknowledged that the attempt made in early May to incline the Venezuelan army to the side of the opposition failed. Now the politician is ready to agree with the US military invasion of the country, if the US deems it necessary.