- Tweeter
republish
The talks in Norway between Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's representatives and the delegates of his rival Juan Guaido, backed by Washington, must focus on Maduro's departure, US diplomacy said on Tuesday.
" We take note of the discussions in Norway. As we have said several times, the United States believe that the only thing to negotiate with Nicolas Maduro is the conditions of his departure, "State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus told reporters. .
" Previous negotiating efforts have failed because the regime used them to divide the opposition and buy time, we hope that the talks in Oslo will focus on the departure of Maduro as a precondition for any progress, " he said. Morgan Ortagus.
Since Monday, a delegation of the Venezuelan opposition and another representative of the regime of Nicolas Maduro are in Norway, more precisely in Oslo, with the aim of finding a negotiated solution to the political, social and economic crisis which touches Venezuela since many months.
Why Norway? This country has had years of expertise in negotiation to try to find a way out of conflict. Norway has accompanied the Colombian peace process, which ended with the signing of a peace agreement between the Farc and Bogota in 2016. But even with this expertise, Norwegian diplomats will have to redouble their efforts to try to obtain a compromise.
Norway wants this process to be as secret as possible
If it has been more than a week since both parties negotiated their participation in these negotiations separately, now it's time to talk to each other directly. On Tuesday, May 28, discussions continued with a subject that is likely to come back on the table throughout this dialogue: the organization of free and transparent elections, under the auspices of the international community.
Norway is listening for the moment to the arguments of both parties. But the Venezuelan opposition has already warned: it wants quick and effective solutions, the situation on the spot is no longer tenable. An opposition which is said to be relatively confident, because it knows that the one who is in charge of this file on the Norwegian side has prepared this dialogue at length. This is Dag Nylander, top Norwegian diplomat, who participated for 6 years in the development of the peace agreement with the FARC, but who also worked on the border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela.
Dag Nylander interviewed many people before embarking on the project, including Venezuelan civil society actors, NGOs, and diplomats. Norway wants this process to be as secret as possible. Very little information is circulating about these negotiations, because as the Norwegian authorities remind us, discretion is a guarantee of success in such processes.