Venezuela’s government sent envoys to UN-backed peace talks with the putschist opposition in the Dominican Republic yesterday.
President Nicolas Maduro accepted an invitation from Dominican President Danilo Medina and former Spanish PM Jose Luis Zapatero to restart internationally-mediated negotiations in Santo Domingo.
But a statement from the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) coalition on Tuesday demanded unspecified pre-conditions.
“To enter a serious negotiation we demand immediate action that shows a true willingness to resolve national problems and not to buy time,” it said.
MUD-affiliated Justice First (PJ) party General Secretary Tomas Guanipa told reporters: “There's no type of conversation planned.”
The MUD walked out of the previous talks in February — mediated by the Vatican, regional bloc Unasur, Mr Zapatero and former Dominican and Panamanian presidents — before launching the four-month campaign of regime-change violence that left 124 dead.
Those riots petered out after the July 30 election to a new assembly to amend the constitution. The MUD boycotted the National Constituent Assembly but on Sunday elected candidates for next month's State governor elections.
Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Maduro said he was sending a delegation led by former vice-president Jorge Rodriguez to the talks.
He addd Mr Zapatero and Mr Medina knew very well that “I have been the promoter of this dialogue, and that I accept this new proposal.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian both welcomed the move.
Mr Guterres’ spokesman Stefane Dujarric said: “The Secretary-General encourages the Venezuelan political actors to seize this opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to address the country's challenges through mediation and peaceful means.”
He added: “The situation in Venezuela requires a political solution based on dialogue and compromise between the Government and the opposition to ensure peaceful coexistence among all Venezuelans.”
Speaking after meeting Venezuelan Foreign Minster Jorge Arreaza in Paris, Mr Le Drian hailed the “good news” but repeated German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s threat of EU sanctions last week.
“I reminded him about the risk of European sanctions and the need for the Venezuelan government to give concrete concrete signals of its willingness to relaunch negotiations with the opposition, within the framework of a sincere and credible initiative,” he said.
However, the Dominican initiative would appear to undermine US-led efforts to isolate Venezuela from the Washington-based Organisation of American States (OAS) — along with new financial sanctions and even the threat of military action.
President Nicolas Maduro accepted an invitation from Dominican President Danilo Medina and former Spanish PM Jose Luis Zapatero to restart internationally-mediated negotiations in Santo Domingo.
But a statement from the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) coalition on Tuesday demanded unspecified pre-conditions.
“To enter a serious negotiation we demand immediate action that shows a true willingness to resolve national problems and not to buy time,” it said.
MUD-affiliated Justice First (PJ) party General Secretary Tomas Guanipa told reporters: “There's no type of conversation planned.”
The MUD walked out of the previous talks in February — mediated by the Vatican, regional bloc Unasur, Mr Zapatero and former Dominican and Panamanian presidents — before launching the four-month campaign of regime-change violence that left 124 dead.
Those riots petered out after the July 30 election to a new assembly to amend the constitution. The MUD boycotted the National Constituent Assembly but on Sunday elected candidates for next month's State governor elections.
Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Maduro said he was sending a delegation led by former vice-president Jorge Rodriguez to the talks.
He addd Mr Zapatero and Mr Medina knew very well that “I have been the promoter of this dialogue, and that I accept this new proposal.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian both welcomed the move.
Mr Guterres’ spokesman Stefane Dujarric said: “The Secretary-General encourages the Venezuelan political actors to seize this opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to address the country's challenges through mediation and peaceful means.”
He added: “The situation in Venezuela requires a political solution based on dialogue and compromise between the Government and the opposition to ensure peaceful coexistence among all Venezuelans.”
Speaking after meeting Venezuelan Foreign Minster Jorge Arreaza in Paris, Mr Le Drian hailed the “good news” but repeated German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s threat of EU sanctions last week.
“I reminded him about the risk of European sanctions and the need for the Venezuelan government to give concrete concrete signals of its willingness to relaunch negotiations with the opposition, within the framework of a sincere and credible initiative,” he said.
However, the Dominican initiative would appear to undermine US-led efforts to isolate Venezuela from the Washington-based Organisation of American States (OAS) — along with new financial sanctions and even the threat of military action.