The Venezuelan government conditioned the political dialogue with the opposition to the lifting of “all” the sanctions imposed by the international community, just days before an International Conference proposed by the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro to promote dialogue in Venezuela.
Petro, confirmed on Monday that Bogotá will host the meeting, scheduled for April 25, which seeks to “unlock the negotiations” carried out by Venezuela, the United States, Mexico and Norway, “that there be no sanctions and that there be much more democracy “.
“More democracy, zero sanctions, is the objective of the conference in Bogotá,” said the Colombian president on Monday at the end of his speech at the UN Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York.
The Venezuelan government welcomed the initiative of the Colombian president but said that the dialogue depended on the lifting of all sanctions.
“It will only be possible to advance in the political dialogue between Venezuelans once all the unilateral coercive measures applied to our country have been annulled, which are contrary to International Humanitarian Law,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, and reiterated the willingness to move forward in “achieving concrete agreements” with all the political sectors of the country.
Maduro assured on Monday that there are “great expectations” about the conference and said he considers it a “good opportunity” to seek “roads of improvement” in the face of the time of sanctions and blockades that have “affected” the country.
Opposition leader Juan Guaidó reacted on Twitter about the announcement saying that the lack of democracy in Venezuela is the cause of the sanctions.
At the end of last month, the delegation of the Unitary Platform of the Venezuelan opposition in the negotiations in Mexico stated that “all” the initiatives for the prompt resumption of the Venezuelan negotiation process had their approval, but insisted on the continuity of the process in Mexicosuspended since last year.
Maduro had expressed in February that his government has no “motivation” to return to sit down with the opposition at the dialogue table in Mexico, arguing that the opposition has breached the agreements.
The ruling party and the Unitary Platform signed an agreement in November to create a Fund of 3,000 million dollars for Social Care with resources frozen abroad, which will be administered by the United Nations (UN), to meet the most urgent needs in Venezuela, but the funds have not been released.
In January, the coordinator of the Delegation of the Unitary Platform for the negotiation in Mexico, Gerardo Blyde, called on the government delegation to return to the dialogue table “as soon as possible” and denied that they were breaching the agreement signed last year as say senior government officials.
Petro, who is on a visit to the United States, where do you plan to meet with his American counterpart Joe Biden in the White Housesaid that foreign ministers from European governments, the US, and Latin American countries will participate in the event.
The Colombian head of state, who had announced the conference On March 28, he assured that his country would also benefit from the negotiations, and invited the Venezuelan government “to reintegrate into the Inter-American Human Rights System.”
“Colombian peace is articulated to global objectives,” said Petro.
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