Chavez attacks Hillary for 'threatening' Russia, China

Moscow - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has criticised US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who he claimed threatened Russia and China while speaking at a Friends of Syria conference.

"We saw overt threats to Russia and China. (Clinton said)... they will have to pay a high price if they do not do what other countries demand. Do you understand? Obviously, this is the downright madness of those who consider selves rulers of the world," Spanish-language TV network Univision quoted Chavez as saying Monday at a press conference in Caracas.

He urged Clinton to instead look into the problems of the American people.

"There are enough problems in the US, but they (the US authorities) want to do (in Syria) what they did in Libya," Chavez said.

Foreign military troops killed thousands in Libya to kill Gaddafi, Chavez continued.

"And now they want to do the same in Syria and threaten Iran," he said.

The Venezuelan president said Cuban Leader Fidel Castro has already warned him that "there is a serious threat of nuclear war".

Clinton criticised Russia and China last week for blocking efforts to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

She said Russia and China need to understand that there is a price to be paid for "blockading" the Syrian peace process.

"I ask you to reach out to Russia and China and not only ask but demand that they get off the sidelines. I don't think Russia and China believe they are paying any price at all, nothing at all, for standing with the Assad regime," the US secretary of state was quoted as saying.