Bank of England to Decide on Venezuelan Gold, Not UK Government - Foreign Office

LONDON (Sputnik) - It is up to the Bank of England to decide whether to give Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro access to gold reserves it is holding under contract, Alan Duncan, the minister of state at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said.

"This is a decision for the Bank of England, not for government. It is they who have to make a decision on this, but no doubt they will take into account when they do so, the fact that a large number of countries across the world are now questioning the legitimacy of Nicolas Maduro and recognizing that of Juan Guaido", Duncan told the UK parliament during an urgent question on Venezuela.

© REUTERS / MARCO BELLO

Nobody Can Claim an Ultimatum to Hold Snap Election in Venezuela - Professor

The statement comes after media reported on 28 January that Juan Guaido, the Venezuelan opposition leader, who proclaimed himself the country's interim president last week, had sent a letter to UK Prime Minister Theresa May and Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, asking them to prevent Maduro from pulling out any of gold held in the UK's central bank.

READ MORE: Venezuela Launches Alternative Currency Exchange, Bolivar Down by 35 Percent

Guaido reportedly said in the letter to the UK authorities that if the money was transferred it would be used by Maduro government "to repress" the Venezuelan people.

On 26 January, the Bloomberg news agency reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the Bank of England had rejected Maduro officials' request to withdraw $1.2 billion worth of gold after US senior officials lobbied their counterparts in the United Kingdom to help cut off the Maduro government from its foreign assets.

Over 600 US troops arrive in Syria to secure "withdrawal"

The US decided on Thursday to send additional troops to Syria to help provide protection to other American forces and their equipment as they withdraw from the country under a directive from President Donald Trump.

US troops patrol near Turkish border in Hasakah, Syria, November 4, 2018. (Reuters)

More than 600 additional US troops have arrived in Syria to provide protection to other American forces during their pullout from the war-torn country, Anadolu Agency cites local sources.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the additional troops arrived at US air bases in eastern Syria’s Harab Isk and Sarrin villages, which will be used as main evacuation centres in the event of withdrawal.

The US bases in the towns of Rmeilan and Tal Baidar in Syria's northwestern Al Hasakah province will be used for airway of heavy weapons, the source added.

A Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to comment on the number of troops being sent or their destination, citing security concerns, on Thursday.

Last month, US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of 2,000 military troops from Syria.

The pullout decision came during a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which the two leaders agreed on the need for more effective coordination over the civil war-torn country.

Source: Associated Press