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Los Angeles (AFP) – The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, said on Friday, in the framework of the closing of the IX Summit of the Americas, that he believes that the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the opposition will resume talks.
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, at the closing of the IX Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, to which none of the Venezuelan parties was invited, renewed Washington’s willingness to ease the sanctions if Maduro commits to the opposition from Juan Guaidó.
The two sides “have indicated their intention to resume those talks and negotiations in Mexico City. That is the most recent information we have,” Blinken said in a meeting with reporters.
The negotiations in Venezuela “are the best path that we see to try to restore the democracy that Venezuelans clearly deserve and want, and alleviate the extraordinary suffering that has occurred in recent years.”
Venezuela, absent but protagonist
Mexico, which recognizes the legitimacy of Maduro, invited both Venezuelan parties to resume the talks that were initially sponsored by Norway.
For his part, the president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, assured that the issue covered part of the conversations with his peers at the Summit of the Americas.
“We agree to reactivate the international contact group that is facilitating the talks in Mexico with the support of other countries so that the 2024 elections can have all the guarantees,” the Chilean president said at a press conference shortly after Blinken’s announcement.
Boric avoided answering whether Chile would offer to mediate the talks, but opted for dialogue to deal with the Venezuelan situation.
“We think differently, but we are united in favor of democracy,” he said, referring to Latin American peers with different ideological lines.
Regarding Guaidó, the Chilean president maintained that “it makes no sense to recognize a government that does not exist.”
Negotiations have been broken since October
Maduro left the negotiating table in October, in retaliation for the extradition from Cape Verde to the United States of a nearby businessman accused of being his figurehead and who is accused of corruption.
In January 2019, Washington and fifty other governments recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó, then head of Parliament, as interim president of Venezuela, after Maduro won his re-election in disputed elections.
“Sanctions are not an end in themselves. They are an effort to incentivize those who receive them to engage in different conduct,” Blinken said.
“And we have said for a long time, the sanctions are not permanent. If we see a change, the sanctions can be lifted,” said the Secretary of State of the North American nation.
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