It is sad that Western European leaders chose such a destination to mark Victory Day, the Venezuelan president has said

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has condemned the leaders of France, Britain, and Germany for marking Victory Day in Kiev, which he described as "the world capital of Nazism and fascism."

Maduro's remarks came after he returned from Russia, where he took part in the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany on May 9 and signed a strategic cooperation treaty between Moscow and Caracas.

The parade on Red Square in Moscow and other commemorative events "acquired great significance because today there is a revival of Nazism and fascism," the Venezuelan president said during his Con Maduro+ television program on Monday.

Kiev has become "the world capital of Nazism and fascism, where a pro-Nazi government rules," he added.

Vladimir Zelensky's government is "a protector of the Nazi currents, it exterminates the people of Ukraine and the peoples of the [former] Soviet Union," Maduro insisted.

According to the president, it is "sad" that French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who all visited Kiev on Saturday, chose such a destination to mark Victory Day.

"The West, in its civilizational decadence, simply intends to cover up, erase, destroy with missiles of lies, the great truth of the heroic process that led to the victory of the Red Army of the Soviet Union against Nazism and fascism," he said.

Macron, Starmer, and Merz went to Kiev "to celebrate, calling for war, they went to talk about sanctions," but ended up being "defeated by history," Maduro stated.

During their trip to Kiev, the French, British, and German leaders demanded that Russia agree to a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine or face more sanctions.

READ MORE: Trump mulls participation in Russia-Ukraine talks

Instead, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday offered to resume direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev to find a settlement to the conflict that would address its root causes. According to the Russian leader, the talks could take place in Istanbul on Thursday, May 15. Putin's proposal was backed by US President Donald Trump, who said on Monday that the potential talks could deliver "good results."

(RT.com)