ISTANBUL: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and offered his support after a Venezuelan opposition leader declared himself interim president, a spokesman for the Turkish president said on Thursday.

"Our president called and extended Turkey's support to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and said 'My brother Maduro! Stand tall, we stand by you!'," Ibrahim Kalin said on Twitter.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president on Wednesday, winning the backing of Washington and many Latin American nations and prompting socialist Maduro, who has led the oil-rich nation since 2013, to break relations with the United States.