Venezuela govt, opposition hold new round of talks

SANTO DOMINGO: Venezuela’s government and opposition concluded a new round of talks Friday in an effort to bridge deep and entrenched differences to find a way to end the dire political and economic crisis tearing apart their country.

After eight hours of discussions at the foreign ministry in Santo Domingo, the two sides agreed to resume negotiations on Jan 11, Dominican President Danilo Medina announced.

It will be followed by a meeting of foreign ministers on Jan 12.

“There has been significant progress,” said Medina, whose country is hosting the second meeting after a first on Dec 1 and 2 yielded what was similarly termed “significant advances.”

“There are six major issues that we are discussing ... We cannot announce any of the advances we have had because they are part of a package. As long as agreements are not reached completely, we cannot make an announcement.”

Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz expressed hope that an agreement would be ‘finalized’ by Jan 12.

The parties agreed to designate a spokesperson for each side: Communication Minister Jorge Rodriguez for the government and, for the opposition, Julio Borges, president of the opposition majority parliament.

In addition to the Dominican Republic and Chile, foreign ministers from Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are serving as guarantors of the process, along with former Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

The Venezuelan government is demanding an end to what it calls economic ‘sabotage’ it claims is being waged by the opposition with support from the United States and Colombia.

The opposition is seeking guarantees that presidential elections next year will be transparent and fair.

The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is feeling politically strengthened after winning local elections last weekend in which the main opposition groups were excluded and after mostly triumphing in October gubernatorial polls. — AFP