The presidents of Argentina, Colombia and France said this Friday (11) that dialogue is the “only way” to resolve the political crisis in Venezuela, at the end of a meeting in Paris between the regime and the Caribbean country’s opposition.
Alberto Fernández, Gustavo Petro and Emmanuel Macron, who promoted the holding of the meeting and participated in it, “expressed their full support for the resumption of the negotiation process among Venezuelans,” according to a joint statement.
The meeting was attended by Jorge Rodríguez, head of the Venezuelan official delegation for negotiations with the opposition, and Gerardo Blyde, head of the opposition delegation.
However, after the meeting, Blyde refuted Petro’s proposal for a “general amnesty” for the Venezuelan negotiation process. “There are issues of crimes against humanity and human rights violations that are not negotiable,” said the opposition representative, who did not estimate a timeframe for a possible resumption of talks with the Chavista dictatorship.
“ We don’t have a date, but I hope it will be as soon as possible”, he said.
The presidents of France, Argentina and Colombia “expressed their willingness to support this process as much as necessary”, which has in Norway – also present at the meeting – the country that facilitates the Venezuelan political dialogue.
“This initiative aims to encourage Venezuelan political actors to reach an agreement on a way out of the crisis, with a view to to free, democratic and international election observation presidential elections in 2024 in Venezuela,” the statement concludes.
Rodríguez and Blyde previously met at the Spanish Embassy in France – first separately and then together – with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, José Manuel Albares, who also expressed the country’s “total willingness” to accompany Venezuela on the path of dialogue.
