Colombian Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva met this Sunday with the Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
Sources told EL TIEMPO that one of the issues discussed was the development of the summit in Bogotá on April 25, which seeks to reactivate the dialogue between the ruling party and the Venezuelan opposition.
(Also read: Can Gustavo Petro’s summit on Venezuela really help dialogue?
EL TIEMPO released the information about the meeting, which was classified in Miraflores as private.
A few hours after the meeting ended, the Colombian Foreign Ministry confirmed via Twitter that the meeting between the representatives of both countries was “preparatory to the international conference on the Venezuelan political process, which will take place in Bogotá.”
Some days ago It was speculated that Maduro would attend the meeting in Bogotá, However, Foreign Minister Leyva denied the rumors in statements to the Colombian media.
This summit will take place five days after President Petro meets his counterpart Joe Biden in the United States. It has been said that the agenda will deal with migration and the fight against drugs.
(Also read: Maduro questions the holding of presidential elections in Venezuela)
Thanks to the former ambassadors of the United States in Colombia for receiving me. I informed them of the current state of relations between Colombia and Venezuela, and why it was essential to restore them. pic.twitter.com/07XEWxgwnR
— Armando Benedetti (@AABenedetti) March 20, 2023
However, sources told EL TIEMPO that the idea is also to work on a solution for Venezuela and, although the participation of the United States in the 25 summit has not been confirmed, it is known that Washington is closely following the process and endorses the initiative.
Colombia has played an important role in recent months to reinsert Venezuela at the international level.
The Colombian ambassador in Caracas, Armando Benedetti, traveled to the US in the middle of a mission that would seek to mediate on the Venezuelan issue. After that trip, Petro and Benedetti were received by Maduro in the Venezuelan capital.
(Read also: Venezuela: the works that have “disappeared” 300,000 million dollars)
Until now it is unknown how Venezuela’s participation in the April 25 summit will be, but Leyva announced in New York, at the United Nations, that at least 15 countries would attend, including representatives of the European Union.
In parallel to the meeting in Caracas, Ambassador Benedetti reported on his Twitter account that he had a meeting with Petro in Cartagena, before the visit that the Colombian president will make to the United States.
I saw myself in Cartagena with the president @petrogustavo before the visit that begins today to the United States. It will be a successful trip.
— Armando Benedetti (@AABenedetti) April 17, 2023
ANA MARIA RODRIGUEZ BRAZON
WEATHER CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
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