The first meeting of the International Contact Group on Venezuela has started in Montevideo, Uruguay, with participants aiming to find ways to address the crisis in the Latin American country
MONTEVIDEO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th February, 2019) The first meeting of the International Contact Group on Venezuela has started in Montevideo, Uruguay, with participants aiming to find ways to address the crisis in the Latin American country.The meeting, co-hosted by the European Union, kicked off at 11:30 a.m. local time at Torre Ejecutiva (the Executive Tower), the workplace of the president of Uruguay.
Hours before the meeting began, the main square of the city where the Torre Ejecutiva is located was fenced off and closed to the public. An increased police presence was seen at the square.
On January 23, Juan Guaido, the head of the Venezuelan opposition-led National Assembly, proclaimed himself the country's interim president and was immediately recognized by the United States, Canada and other US allies. Russia, Mexico, China, Turkey, Uruguay and several other countries came forward to reaffirm their support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as the country's only legitimate democratically elected head of state.
In late January, in response to the political turmoil in Venezuela, the European Union announced the establishment of the International Contact Group (ICG) which is comprised of representatives from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom along with Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Uruguay.
In a joint statement released on February 3, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini and Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez said the agenda at the ICG inaugural meeting would be focused on finding a solution to help Venezuelans choose their own future.
The creation of the EU-Latin American ICG came after the expiration of an ultimatum from the European Union which gave Maduro eight days to organize new presidential elections. After the deadline expired over the weekend, many European countries announced support for Guaido.
However, several EU countries have chosen to abstain from backing Guaido, including Italy, Ireland, Greece and Slovakia. The Russian government described the decision by certain EU member states to recognize Guaido as "direct interference" in Venezuela's domestic affairs.
The International Contact Group on Venezuela's Terms of Reference, approved by group delegations on January 30 and released the following day, outlines the ICG's objectives and mandate.
One of the group's main objectives is to hold new presidential elections supervised by international independent observers, the document revealed.
ICG members also said they want to reach out to relevant national actors regarding confidence-building measures between the two sides in Venezuela.
Confidence-building measures, according to the ICG objectives, would include things like the release of political prisoners, recognition of the National Assembly's constitutional role, facilitation of external aid, and lifting bans on opposition political parties from participating in Venezuelan elections.
The political appropriateness and results achieved by the ICG, according to the document, will be reviewed after 90 days, and the group's work will be terminated "in the absence of sufficient progress."
In addition to the EU-South American ICG, other members of the international community have taken steps to resolve the crisis.
The ICG's first meeting is taking place on the sidelines of an international conference convened by Mexico and Uruguay.
Moreover, the Lima Group recently gathered in Canada to discuss the situation.
After a meeting in Ottawa on Monday, 11 members of the Lima Group - Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Peru - issued a declaration affirming their support for Guaido.
Maduro has called the opposition leader a US puppet and accused Washington of attempting to organize a coup. He also announced that Venezuela has cut diplomatic ties with the United States.
