President Nicolas Maduro agrees to be the guarantor of Colombia's talks with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, the last active rebel group in a country torn by decades of conflict.
Officials arrive in capital Caracas to discuss "bilateral agenda," says Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as conflict in Ukraine grinds, driving higher gas prices and forcing Washington to recalibrate other foreign policy objectives.
Besides Ankara-Caracas bilateral relations, global and regional matters are set to be discussed between leaders of both countries.
After a political stalemate of three years that has seen economic and social conditions in Venezuela deteriorate, Washington wants to encourage President Nicolas Maduro to negotiate with his opponents.
President Nicolas Maduro’s calculation includes the potential for domestic and international political and economic gains.
Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu met top Venezuelan officials to deepen bilateral business ties including migration and agriculture.
Last November, the ICC opened a formal investigation into alleged rights violations during a crackdown by security forces on protests sparked by the arrests of several opposition leaders in 2017.
One of the freed prisoners was Gustavo Cardenas, among six Citgo oil executives arrested in 2017, and the other was a Cuban American, identified as Jorge Alberto Fernandez, detained on unrelated charges, Reuters reports.
Both sides used meeting in Caracas to present what one of the sources described as "maximalist" demands, Reuters reports, reflecting longtime tensions between US and its ideological foe Venezuela which has backed Russia's war on Ukraine.
The recent regional elections were billed as a test for the beginning of the end of a years-long political stalemate.
Talks, mediated by Norway and hosted by Mexico, have a seven-point agenda including easing sanctions, political rights and electoral guarantees – but not the departure of President Maduro.
Talks have seven-point agenda including easing sanctions, political rights and electoral guarantees –– but not the departure of President Maduro, accused by Guaido-led opposition of fraudulent re-election in 2018.
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