Charles Maines

In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry called the Trump administration's pretext for attacking Venezuela unfounded.

It said if reports of Maduro's capture were true, the U.S.

actions marked an unacceptable assault on Venezuela's sovereignty.

Despite such expressions of support, Moscow has stopped short of challenging the U.S.

more forcefully.

amid a months-long pressure campaign by the Trump administration against the Venezuelan leadership.

The Kremlin reportedly rebuffed a request by Nicolas Maduro for direct military assistance in the fall, a result, analysts say, of Moscow's desire to maintain good relations with the Trump administration as it tries to broker its own peace deal for Russia's war in Ukraine.

Charles Baines, NPR News, Moscow.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea Russia had dismissed the U.S.

peace plan outright, saying Putin's give and take over U.S.

proposals was a normal part of the negotiating process.

Peskov said Moscow remained open to future meetings to narrow differences, but that Russia preferred diplomacy out of the public eye.

The comments came after a late-night marathon meeting between Putin and White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin failed to reach a compromise.

The Americans had sought Putin's support for a revised U.S.

peace plan for Ukraine, one that included more input from Ukraine and Europe after an earlier draft was criticized as heavily weighted in Russia's favor.

Charles Mainz, NPR News, Moscow.

This deal was initially tilted in Russia's favor, which got Putin's cautious endorsement.

But then came the blowback.

Ukraine, Europe, even some Republicans in Congress said this was unacceptable and they demanded changes.

And so with each revision, they pulled it further away from a deal Moscow liked.