Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Photo: VCG

Russia welcomes the agreement reached between the Venezuelan government and the opposition, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Friday.

"It opens the way to a meaningful and businesslike talk between various parties that are ready to put the fate of Venezuela and its people above their political ambitions," Zakharova said at a news briefing.

The government and part of the opposition of Venezuela signed an agreement on starting the National Dialogue Table for Peace on Monday.

The agreement also includes the formation of a new electoral council and the incorporation of the parliamentary faction of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and of the allied factions of the government into the national parliament.

Zakharova said that the agreement is open for signing so that radical opposition can also join and seek mutually acceptable ways of settlement in Venezuela.

Russia also urges all members of the international community interested in stabilization in Venezuela to follow Russia's example, publicly support the agreement and refrain from taking steps which can damage the negotiation process, she said.

However, the situation around Venezuela continues to be alarming, as the United States is still nurturing plans of military intervention, Zakharova said.

On Tuesday, the US State Department said in a statement that the United States and its allies may activate the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, known as the Rio Pact, which includes joint defense against the legitimate Venezuelan government of Nicolas Maduro.

Zakharova called the statement "hypocritical."

First, Washington declares the impossibility of any contacts between the opposition and Maduro, and then, several months later, accuses Maduro of torpedoing the negotiations and threatens to use the Rio Pact, she said.

"This confirms the absolutely destructive line of the US external policy in the region, which is aimed to topple undesirable governments and regimes," she said.