Norway confirms its role as mediator | Between the government …

The Norwegian authorities confirmed yesterday that their country would play a mediating role in the dialogue possibly initiated between the Venezuelan government and the opposition. "Norway indicates that it has had preliminary contacts with representatives of Venezuela's main political actors, in an exploratory phase, with the aim of supporting the search for a solution to the situation in the country", said the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement. declaration. The Nicolás Maduro government immediately thanked Norway for its willingness to dialogue in a message that was later echoed by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza. The announcement of a first rapprochement was unofficial this week and generated, in opposition, internal disagreements. In Chavismo, however, there was no crossroads of opinion.

In his statement, Oslo praised the "efforts" of the parties and showed his willingness to continue supporting "the search for a peaceful solution". Venezuela's Speaker of the Parliament and self-proclaimed interim President Juan Guaidó confirmed Thursday the Caribbean country's contacts with Norway. "Yes, there are some who are sent to Norway (…) Now I have also said until exhaustion that we will not lend ourselves to a false negotiation that does not lead to three things: the cessation of the usurpation, a transitional government and free elections. "He said. This week, Norwegian state television NRK said that contacts between the two parties had begun in Cuba and then at several secret meetings in Oslo.

The delegation representing the government is composed of the Minister of Communication, Jorge Rodríguez, and the governor of Miranda, Héctor Rodríguez, while the opposition is represented by Stalin González, Vice President of the National Assembly, the Former MP Gerardo Blyde and the President. former minister Fernando Martínez Mottola.

Faced with the first questions about the possibility that presents itself for Venezuela, Guaidó made it clear that there was still no negotiation and that until now, they were only responding to the request of the Norway. The opposition claims that this initiative is helping to find a way out of the crisis and also explained that the mediation was similar to that of Spain, Canada or the International Contact Group of Latin American countries and the European Union.

The Venezuelan ambbadador to Chile, Arévalo Méndez, also supported negotiations in Norway, but warned against the risk of sabotage that the opposition could lead. "We are, as President Maduro says, fully willing and we always call for dialogue My Government will dialogue whenever it calls us to dialogue," the diplomat said at a press conference at the Venezuelan Embbady in Chile. Méndez, however, called for recalling recent history and cited two previous dialogue processes that, in his view, failed because of sabotage of opposition. The first, he explained, took place in 2002 after the failed coup against the then president, Hugo Chávez, and the second was the dialogue in the Dominican Republic. "We are going to find ourselves in a third process and maybe a fourth, a fifth or a nineteenth will come in. The will of President Maduro is to dialogue (…) despite the two previous sabotages, he will dialogue", a insisted the ambbadador to Chile.

But Méndez's doubts are not only related to a possible sabotage of the opposition, but he was also worried that this new approach does not have the approval of the United States. A prerequisite for the opposition to initiate any kind of dialogue with the executive power. During the press conference, the diplomat asked whether the three representatives who went to Oslo have the support of Guaidó and other opponents such as Leopoldo López and María Corina Machado. A question that is unclear because, until now, neither the opposition itself is clear to advance the strategy of dialogue. The main differences are: the possibility or not of an agreement when Maduro remains in the presidency, the possibility or not that Chavismo is part of an electoral scenario without Maduro, and of a part or not of A transition scenario. Machado, for example, hopes that the resolution of the conflict will be done without Maduro and without Chavez. According to this matrix, also expressed among others by the opponent Julio Borges and part of the social base, any dialogue with the government is treason.

Unlike other countries on the continent, Norway does not recognize Mr. Guaidó as interim president, but insists that elections be held. Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide said in January that her country was engaging with the parties and helping them to advance a political process. Norway has been a mediator in twenty dialogue processes in recent decades. For example, he participated in the signing of Oslo agreements between Israelis and Palestinians and in talks between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Meanwhile, Maduro met in Caracas the international contact group that arrived in the Caribbean country and met with the ruling party and the opposition. The national VTV channel transmitted footage of the arrival of the mission to the Miraflores Presidential Palace, which was received by Venezuelan Chancellor Jorge Arreaza. According to the president on his Twitter account, the meeting aimed to inform about the consequences of the economic blockade and sanctions imposed by the United States to Venezuela. In the state channel, representatives from Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal and the Netherlands have all joined the contact group international, which also includes Sweden, the United Kingdom, Costa Rica, Uruguay and Ecuador. and in Bolivia. The group was formed at the initiative of the European Union (EU) and aims to promote a peaceful solution to the Venezuelan crisis. Among other things, they support the convening of presidential elections and the distribution of humanitarian aid.