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Talks progress between Venezuelan govt., opposition

Sunday, 03 December 2017 8:35 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 03 December 2017 8:35 AM ]

The Dominican Republic’s President Danilo Medina (C) addresses the media after a long day of negotiations aimed at resolving Venezuela’s ongoing economic and political crisis, at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, on December 1, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Representatives of the Venezuelan government and opposition have made “significant advances” in negotiations aimed at resolving the country’s political and economic crisis, scheduling a new round of talks.

Two-day reconciliation talks hosted by the Dominican Republic ended in the capital city, Santo Domingo, on Saturday evening.

The host of the talks, Dominican President Danilo Medina, said in a statement that the next stage of the negotiations would resume in Santo Domingo in two weeks’ time.

Representative from both sides, who were joined by foreign ministers from Latin American countries acting as mediators, agreed to resume peace talks on December 15.

Venezuela, which is located on the northern tip of South America, was the scene of months-long violent protests earlier this year. That unrest was caused by political differences as well as acute shortages of food and medicine.

The opposition Democratic Union Roundtable (MUD) coalition says it wants the government to open a “humanitarian corridor” to allow food and medicine into the crisis-hit country and guarantee “fair” presidential elections in Venezuela next year.

The government, for its part, has called on the opposition to work for the lifting of US sanctions, which Caracas sees as a main reason for the shortages in the country.

PressTV-Maduro: Venezuela facing ‘armed insurgency’

Venezuela’s president criticizes the prosecutor’s office for failure to control the opposition-led violent protests across the Latin American country.

Some 125 people died in the clashes and hundreds more were injured. The violence also led to arrests and caused widespread economic damage.

Leftist President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly accused the United States of orchestrating a plot to topple his government. He accuses the US of sabotaging the economy of the country with the largest oil reserves in the world, causing shortages and dissatisfaction.

Maduro has also accused the US of inciting unrest by openly siding with the opposition.

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