NEW YORK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2019) The results of the work accomplished at the Norway-mediated talks should serve a basis for the prolonging of negotiations, Juan Pablo de Laiglesia, Spain's Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Ibero-America and the Caribbean, told Sputnik at an event at the Park Hyatt Hotel in New York City.
"It's been an excellent platform as long as it has been working," De Laiglesia said on the sidelines of the 74th UN General Assembly in New York on Monday. "We were very disappointed to see this one being freezed, but we also see the work done that should be taken into account and be basis for the continuation of the negotiations."
The Venezuelan authorities earlier announced the launch of the dialogue with a number of opposition political parties. The participants of the dialogue include the Movement for Socialism Party, Progressive Advance and others.
According to Venezuelan state television, some agreements have already been achieved, like the return of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela to the country's parliament, release of prisoners, denouncement of the US sanctions, and changes in the electoral process.
Since May, the Venezuelan government and opposition have been engaged in negotiations mediated by the Norwegian government. In July, a Venezuelan government delegation and opposition representatives held a three-day round of Norway-mediated talks in Barbados as part of efforts to resolve the ongoing political crisis in the country.
In August, Maduro stopped negotiations with the opposition due to Washington's freeze of all assets held by the Venezuelan government in the United States.
Earlier in September, Maduro said that the government would not re-engage in talks with the opposition as long as its leader, Juan Guaido, refused to abandon his intentions to sell the disputed Guayana Esequiba region to transnational companies and the country's eastern neighbor. Caracas has been extending its territorial claims over the region, which is located in the basin of the Essequibo River and is a major portion of Guyana's territory.
Venezuela has faced a political crisis that intensified in January when the US-backed Guaido declared himself interim president.
Maduro has called Guaido a US puppet and accused the United States of trying to orchestrate a coup to seize the country's resources.
