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Spain's Foreign Ministry said it has summoned the Venezuelan Embassy's charge d'affaires to explain "unacceptable remarks" by that nation's president, Nicolas Maduro.
Speaking at a public event Friday in Caracas, Maduro said Spain's former prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, was responsible for the death of 1.2 million Iraqis as a supporter of the Iraq War that then-President George W. Bush launched in 2003.
A source with current Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's administration told Efe that Maduro's remarks were deplorable and underscored the government's support for and solidarity with Aznar, who served as head of government from 1996 to 2004.
"These types of condemnations, falsehoods and slanderous remarks directed at Spanish political authorities and leaders on the part of Venezuela's government are unfortunately much too frequent," the source added.
Maduro's comments are "unjustified, groundless and inconsistent with the deep ties of friendship that have linked Spain and Venezuela throughout their history," the source said.
In late October, Venezuela's leftist government recalled its ambassador in Madrid for consultations "as part of a thorough review" of its diplomatic relations with Spain in the wake of "meddlesome" remarks by Rajoy.
On Oct. 22, Rajoy met in his office with Lilian Tintori, wife of Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who has been jailed since February for allegedly instigating violence during an anti-government protest.
Spain's ruling conservative Popular Party said then that Rajoy expressed to Tintori his and the European Union's concern over the charges against Lopez and the need for the Venezuelan government to respect freedom of expression and citizens' right to demonstrate peacefully.
The following day, Venezuela's Foreign Ministry issued a statement that characterized Rajoy's remarks with respect to Lopez as "meddlesome, irresponsible and disrespectful."
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