Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro must agree to "immediate" elections or risk Germany recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido, German government spokesman Steffan Seibert said on Friday.

Seibert said Maduro has lost his legitimacy as president because the last election did not meet democratic standards.

"The cry of millions of people for democracy and the chance to determine the fate of their country in free and fair election can no longer be ignored," Seibert said.

Earlier this week, opposition lawmaker Guiado declared himself acting president of Venezuela in a stunning move that undermined Madruo's authority. The US immediately recognized him as the legitimate president of the oil-rich, cash-strapped country, with several other countries quick to follow suit, including Brazil and Canada.

'That's going to be our policy'

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told DW that Berlin supports "what Guaido is doing."

"This is why we are calling for fresh elections, for the National Assembly to assume responsibility and for the force of constitutional law to be restored to Venezuela," Maas said. "We've made that known together with our European partners and that's going to be our policy in the coming days."