Paris Reiterates Venezuelan Crisis Can Be Resolved Only Through New Presidential Election

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published February 18, 2019 | 05:49 PM

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, ahead of a EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on Monday, affirmed that only a new presidential election in Venezuela would put an end to the country's political crisis

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th February, 2019) French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, ahead of a EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on Monday, affirmed that only a new presidential election in Venezuela would put an end to the country's political crisis.

"We will reiterate [at the meeting] our desire to respect the rule of law in [Venezuela]. The international contact group that met in Montevideo is a good European initiative with the intention to recover from the political crisis. The political crisis in Venezuela can be resolved only through presidential election, democratic nature of which is guaranteed," Le Drian stated.

According to the French foreign minister, such an election should be called by Juan Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled Venezuelan National Assembly.

�The International Contact Group (ICG) on Venezuela � which is comprised of eight EU and four Latin American nations � held its first meeting on February 7 in Montevideo.

The ICG aims to establish a common understanding of the situation in Venezuela and work with national and international actors to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis. Russia and China have also expressed their willingness to participate in the so-called Montevideo mechanism.

Tensions in Venezuela escalated on January 23, when Guaido declared himself interim president, disputing President Nicolas Maduro's re-election last year. While the United States has openly backed Guaido, the European Union did not issue a joint statement following suit because the motion was vetoed by Italy, according to a diplomatic source. Despite this, however, many European countries have individually voiced their support for the Venezuelan opposition leader.

Russia, China, Mexico, among other nations, voiced support for Maduro, who, in turn, accused Washington of orchestrating an attempted coup with Guaido's help.