The opposition United Platform of Venezuela (PUD) on Tuesday described as “positive” and a “good sign” the possible resumption of direct talks between the government of President Nicolás Maduro and the United States administration.
“We think it’s positive that this is happening (…). We think it’s good that this dialogue is taking place, we believe that it’s the way to deal with the difference and hopefully it will bring many good things” to Venezuela, said Omar Barboza, general secretary of the PUD, in a press conference.
On the eve, Maduro assured that direct talks with the United States government will resume on Wednesday, aimed at normalizing relations between the two countries.
The agenda of these talks is not yet known. The US State Department confirmed this at its daily press conference on Tuesday. Spokesman Vedant Patel said Washington supports the Venezuelan people’s desire to hold free elections.
“I want to overcome this zero-sum conflict, of confrontation, brutal and sterile with them, with the North. It is up to them to comply. I have received the proposal for two consecutive months from the US government to reestablish talks and direct dialogue, and after thinking about it I have accepted,” said Maduro on his television program “Con Maduro +” on Monday.
The announcement of these bilateral talks, which do not include the opposition, comes just weeks before presidential elections are held in the South American country, with Maduro seeking re-election.
In reference to this, Edmundo González, Maduro’s main rival in the July 28 election, said that “anything that improves the climate of animosity with a country is key for us and for the world, it is positive.”
“We’re going to wait and see what happens. I don’t want to anticipate situations that haven’t even begun,” Gonzalez told reporters on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the opposition group reported that it had “activated” the PUD negotiating committee, which will be “on the lookout to intervene in any space where it is possible to work for the normality of the electoral process and for respect for democratic guarantees.”
“It is a good sign that the government is willing to engage in dialogue, we think that is very good. We are also willing to engage in dialogue, that is why we have the negotiating delegation,” Barboza continued.
Direct negotiations initiated last year led to the exchange of a group of Americans detained in Venezuela for Alex Saab, a close associate of Maduro who was being prosecuted in the US for money laundering.
In April, the Venezuelan government accused the US of failing to comply with two memoranda of understanding signed with representatives of President Joe Biden’s administration, one on immigration matters and another on political and diplomatic aspects, aimed at normalizing relations between the two countries.
At the time, Jorge Rodríguez, president of the parliament with a pro-government majority and head of the government’s negotiating delegation who, according to Maduro this week, will lead the government delegation to the talks, showed photographs in which he can be seen together with Brian Nichols, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and the signed documents.
Considering that the Venezuelan government failed to comply with the commitments on electoral guarantees assumed with the opposition in Barbados, the United States decided revoke a license which authorized oil and gas transactions with Venezuela.
The US acknowledged that Maduro’s government complied with “certain aspects” of the agreements signed in Barbados, including the establishment of an electoral calendar and the invitation to electoral observation missions, but questioned the blocking of opposition candidates.
The Democratic Unitary Platform led by María Corina Machado, winner of the presidential primary but disqualified from holding public office, has denounced that the government has not complied with the agreements, including respect for each political actor’s right to choose their candidate.
In May, Venezuela’s electoral authority rendered ineffective the invitation to the European Union Election Observation Mission for the presidential elections of 28 July, despite the fact that it was contemplated in the agreements.
“It reveals the need to calm down the negotiations”
Consulted by the VOALuis Salamanca, political scientist and constitutionalist, described Maduro’s step as “very interesting.” In his opinion, “it reveals Maduro’s need to calm down the election.”
“Qatar has been talked about as the place where the most important steps are being taken in terms of a possible negotiated exit. Qatar, in that sense, is more important than Barbados because the government and the United States understand each other directly.”
“The willingness to talk eases tensions between the two countries and opens up the possibility of a negotiated solution, which has been discussed (…), but these are loose ends,” he said.
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