EU To Consider Setting Up Contact Group For Venezuelan Settlement - Mogherini

The European Union will consider establishing a contact group for handling the crisis in Venezuela, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Monday after a Foreign Affairs Council meeting.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th October, 2018) The European Union will consider establishing a contact group for handling the crisis in Venezuela, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Monday after a Foreign Affairs Council meeting.

"The European Union is not looking at softening its position on Venezuela in any way. On the other side, we also believe that there can be only a democratic political solution to the current crisis in the country. And this is why we will explore the possibility of establishing a contact group to see if there are the conditions to facilitate not a mediation ... but facilitation of a political process, somehow, a way to be in contact with different parties," Mogherini said at a press conference.

Mogherini stressed that she did not want to "create expectations" as the decision on the group had not been made yet.

The European Union has imposed sanctions on a number of Venezuelan officials. Most recently, the bloc targeted 11 senior Venezuelan officials in June over the re-election of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in May.

The European Union urged Venezuela to hold a new election in accordance with international democratic standards. The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry has criticized the EU stance, saying it appeared to be influenced by the United States.