Venezuela’s interim president, Juan Guaido, met Wednesday with Britain’s Charge d’Affaires, Becks Buckingham, who recognized him as head of state, causing discomfort in Nicolás Maduro’s government.

“Today I held a friendly and productive meeting with Venezuela’s interim constitutional president, Juan Guaido, reaffirming Britain’s support for efforts to achieve a democratic solution to the crisis in Venezuela through free and fair elections,” Buckingham said in a statement. Twitter account, where he shared a photo in which he appears to be shaking hands with Guaido.

Today I had a friendly and productive meeting with the Acting President of the Constitution #Venezuela @jguaidoreaffirming the support of #Great Britain efforts to achieve a democratic solution to the crisis in #Venezuela through free and fair elections. pic.twitter.com/vQNfvSRxUM

— Becks Buckingham (@HMGBecksB) August 18, 2021

Following a message from British politics, Maduro’s foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza, described the meeting as an “anti-diplomatic circus.”

“President? Constitutional? I didn’t know Narnia had a Constitution. A meeting to justify stealing gold from the Venezuelan people?” Arreaza added.

President?🤣 Constitutional?😲. I didn’t know Narnia had a Constitution. A meeting to justify the theft of gold from the Venezuelan people? The whole anti-diplomatic circus. https://t.co/N6vfNOTPFP pic.twitter.com/6MMJMpxN7m

– Jorge Arreaza M (@jaarreaza) August 19, 2021

In a statement published on its official website, the interim government stressed that at the meeting Buckingham expressed its support for Guaido in the fight for Venezuelan freedom.

“In particular, British officials conveyed strong support from the UK for the proposed democratic route by the legitimate government and the Unity Platform,” the letter said.

The meeting between Guaido and Buckingham came at a time when the powers of the interim government were being questioned because of the dialogue in Mexico, whose main representatives were Jorge Rodríguez, on the government side, and Gerardo Blyde, on the opposition.

In his first speech, Blyde considered what he was beginning to be “a transcendent, important and integral process that must compel us to remember. Our entire delegation will embark on tireless work to make these negotiations a success.”

Meanwhile Jorge Rodriguez fast: “We already know what we disagree with, we already know how differently we imagine the future, the task now is to find where we find a meeting point to ensure the future and happiness of the Venezuelan people.”