"We were only asserting the right of nations to exercise their sovereignty independently."

KATHMANDU, Feb 13: Prime Minister KP Oli has said that various sides are conspiring to harm Nepal's foreign relations but the government will foil such attempts.

Without taking any names, Prime Minister Oli vented his ire over 'attempts to create controversy' over the statements of the government and his party Nepal Communist Party (NCP) on the Venezuela crisis. “If anyone tries to create misunderstanding with our neighbors or foreign friends, such attempts will fail,” the prime minister said.

Addressing a function organized to launch Prime Minister Employment Program in the capital on Wednesday, he devoted considerably long time to criticize those opposing the government's statement on Venezuelan crisis. “Some are saying that the government statement should not have mentioned of sovereignty. What do they mean? We were only asserting the right of nation to exercise its sovereignty independently,” he said.

Prime Minister Oli said that since Nepal has clear foreign policy and has been conducting foreign relations in various international forums in transparent and open manner, attempts at manipulating our foreign relations will fail.

“We do not play one neighbor against another. No one in this world is our enemy. All are our friends,” he said.

He also said Nepal stands in favor of global peace and independence of all countries. “We have been advocating that the sovereignty and independence of all nations should be recognized. And problems should be resolved through negotiations,” he said.

"Any kind of external interference in internal affairs is not desirable. We work according to the principles of UN Charter and Panchasheel,” he further said.

Diplomatic unease between Kathmandu and Washington DC had surfaced after ruling NCP Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal issued a statement on Venezuela crisis, criticizing the US and its allies for intervening in the internal affairs of Venezuela. The US Embassy in Kathmandu had subsequently sought clarification with senior government officials if Dahal's statement was the official position of the government of Nepal.

Although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) later issued a statement to clarify the government's position, US officials were not impressed. The MoFA statement had emphasized on the need to resolve the ongoing political crisis in Venezuela without “external interference,” echoing the same spirit of Dahal's earlier statement.

 
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