Russia rotated military technicians out of crisis-hit Venezuela on Wednesday, its embassy in Caracas said, as the Venezuelan government declared that it thwarted an alleged coup plot.  

The move comes ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan's Osaka later this week. 

Russia, a major backer of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, sent around 100 military experts to the Latin American country three months ago. The United States, however, supports opposition leader Juan Guaido's bid to replace Maduro. 

"The Il-62 plane which is carrying Russian technicians who have been in Venezuela over the past months... is leaving Caracas for Moscow on June 26," the Russian embassy in Caracas said in a post on Facebook.  

The embassy earlier tweeted that an aircraft had arrived on Monday bringing another technical team for "regular maintenance" of Russian equipment. It linked to comments by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov who said that no new technicians were coming. Ryabkov denied a Russian military "presence" in Venezuela, saying it was about "the fulfillment of after-sale service contracts."  

In Washington, a senior U.S. official also said that the total number of Russian technicians "will not change substantially."  

After the United States demanded the withdrawal of the Russians in March, Moscow said the experts would stay "for as long as needed."  

Venezuela was thrust into a deep power struggle in January when Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, proclaimed himself "interim president" of Venezuela, arguing Maduro's 2018 re-election was illegitimate. 

In a renewal of instability, Maduro on Wednesday warned he would be "ruthless" with the opposition after his government said it had thwarted a plot to assassinate him. 

(With input from AFP, Reuters)