Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged support to Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro after the U.S. backed opposition leader Juan Guaido, according to local media reports.
"Maduro brother, stand tall, Turkey stands with you, Erdogan tells President Nicolas Maduro by telephone,” Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin wrote on Twitter.
Maduro earlier in the day ordered U.S. diplomats in Venezuela to leave the country within 72 following President Donald Trump’s announcement.
"The gringos don't have friends," Maduro said during a speech he gave outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. "They aren't loyal to anyone."
Of the phone call with Erdogan, Maduro said: "He said, my presidential friend, keep going forward and tell Venezuela that they have all the support of the Turkish president and people," Maduro said.
U.S. officials earlier Wednesday said of the diplomats ordered to leave:
"If Maduro and his cronies choose to respond with violence . . . all options are on the table" for "full diplomatic and economic" action by the U.S., a Trump official said, according to the Business Insider.
"In our sanctions, we've barely scratched the surface of what actions the United States can take from an economic sanctions front," the official said.
All options "are viable," he added. Trump has been vocal about his support for military intervention in the country.