Russian troops to stay in Venezuela despite Trump's 'warning'

The Kremlin on Thursday rejected a call from U.S. President Donald Trump for Russia to pull out of Venezuela and said its actions there were lawful and agreed with the Latin American country's legitimate government, RIA news agency reported. The rift between Russia and the United States over how to resolve the crisis in Venezuelawidened following the arrival of Russian military personnel to support Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend.

Trump on Wednesday called on Russia to pull its troops out of Venezuela and said "all options" were open to making that happen.

Russia has declined to comment on reports it has deployed Russian servicemen to Venezuela.