A London High Court judge on Tuesday suspended a court order which froze 12 billion dollars (7.6 billion euros) of assets owned by Venezuela state oil firm PDVSA in a dispute with US energy giant ExxonMobil.

"The judge hasn't allowed his court or his country to be an instrument'' of Exxon, Samuel Moncada, Venezuela's ambassador to the U.K., said in an interview. ``This decision should have an effect on any reasonable court in the world.''

Addressing a group of solidarity activists gathered to hear the ruling, Moncada added: "Over 2 weeks it has been argued, and an English judge has decided not to support the Exxon case, but to support the Venezuelan case. Your slogan, Hands off Venezuela, is more relevant than ever, today."