Maduro govt, Oppn to resume talks in Barbados: Guaido

The Nicolas Maduro government and the opposition will resume negotiations in Barbados in a bid to find a solution to ending the months-long political and economic crisis in Venezuela, the country's opposition leader Juan Guaido said on Sunday.

"In response to the mediation of the Kingdom of Norway, (the opposition) will attend a meeting with representatives of the usurper regime in Barbados, to establish a negotiation on the end of the dictatorship," Guaido said in a statement.

Guaido, who is the self-proclaimed interim President of Venezuela, did not disclose a date for the resumption of negotiations in the Caribbean nation.

Both the representatives of the Maduro government and the opposition have held several rounds of talks, mediated by Norway. However, no agreement has been reached so far, Sputnik reported.

 

In June, Guaido had said that the opposition was not keen on returning to the negotiating table because "anything that does not move us toward (Maduro's resignation) is useless."

Representatives of the Venezuelan government and the opposition had held a similar round of talks in Norway on May 16. Maduro had hailed the talks as 'positive.'

The two round of talks in Norway's capital city of Oslo were aimed at resolving the ongoing crisis in Venezuela, which began in January, this year when Maduro was sworn in for the second term as President. The January elections have since been termed as "rigged" by most of the international communities.

The country plunged into deep political crisis after Guaido proclaimed himself as the interim President amid throngs of cheering supporters who called for Maduro to step down.

The US immediately extended its support to Guaido, followed by nations like Canada and the UK. However, countries like Russia and China showed support for Maduro and slammed the United States for their interference in the nation.

The political crisis took its worse turn on April 30 when Guaido declared he was "beginning the final phase of Operation Freedom," in an apparent bid to oust Maduro.

His call led to protesters collecting at the La Carlota military airbase, where a confrontation between the opposition leader's supporters and Maduro's supporters took place. In the clashes that ensued, at least 71 people were injured.