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The French president, Emmanuel Macron, thanked the mediation of his Argentine counterpart, Alberto Fernández, in the dialogues between the Government of Venezuela and the opposition that will take place this Friday in Paris. Also in the capital of the Gallic country, the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, supported the talks that open a new chapter towards a possible negotiated solution to the political tension that the South American country is experiencing.
The prelude to negotiations for peace in Latin America took place this Thursday, November 10, in Paris. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, received his Colombian and Argentine counterparts, Gustavo Petro and Alberto Fernández, one day before an expected dialogue between representatives of the Venezuelan opposition and the ruling party is held.
The talks take place within the framework of the fifth edition of the Paris Peace Forum, which will place special emphasis on the Latin American region. A meeting that seeks to find solutions, among many problems, to the political crisis that Venezuela is going through.
Argentina will be one of the mediators. For this reason, Macron thanked Fernández at a joint press conference and promised to contribute to a negotiated solution to the struggle between the government of Nicolás Maduro and the opposition forces.
“We will defend peace and stability, and we will discuss the situation in Venezuela… And I am aware of the role that you (Fernández) personally played in this direction, I have been able to observe it in recent years, and I really want to thank you deeply here today and tell you that We will do everything possible to be able to accompany this initiative, these peace efforts,” the president stated.
The thanks were mutual. Fernández assured that it is “very important” that France, under the leadership of Macron, seeks to promote democracy hand in hand with Latin America.
An expected rapprochement between the Venezuelan Government and the opposition
Few are the details that are known about the face to face of the opposing forces in Venezuela. However, the leaders meeting in Paris have expressed their optimism about the meeting between Jesús Rodríguez, the Venezuelan government’s negotiator, and Gerardo Blyde Pérez, a representative of the opposition.
The place of the meeting still remains confidential and both Macron, Fernández and Petro have on their agendas to meet on Friday to analyze the panorama that the talks open.
From the Elysée Palace they have already illustrated the objectives of the day and stressed that it is an attempt by France to “support” the dialogue and achieve the holding of “fair and transparent elections” in Venezuela.
Macron’s wink to Maduro during COP27
The images of a greeting between Emmanuel Macron and Nicolás Maduro were released at the beginning of the week. These gave clues that France’s attitude towards Venezuela could be changing.
Despite the fact that the European country does not officially recognize Maduro as president, from the Elysee they assured that the rapprochement was a first step that “tries to create a dynamic for the resumption of negotiations” and that “Macron is trying to accompany it”.
France would then be facing what it called a “political reconfiguration” in which countries like the United States have sought to approach Caracas in recent months.
In Egypt, Maduro informed the French president that he would send an official delegation to Paris.
A history of failed negotiations
The cracks between the Maduro government and the opposition have expanded since a negotiation process in Mexico failed in 2021 after the extradition of Colombian-Venezuelan businessman Alex Saab to the United States.
An announcement that came after Saab was arrested due to charges imposed by Washington for money laundering.
Despite this, Caracas had demanded that the businessman, close to Maduro, take part in the talks. A request that was denied by the other party and that led the opposition to choose to leave the dialogue table.
Two other attempts to defuse tension between the two sides in Barbados and the Dominican Republic also failed.
With EFE and AFP
