REVIEW - Contact Group On Venezuela Holds Talks In Uruguay Amid Protests Against US Intervention

MONTEVIDEO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th February, 2019) Members of the International Contact Group (ICG) on Venezuela gathered in Uruguay for their first meeting focused on ways of resolving the crisis while demonstrators gathered outside protesting against possible US military intervention.

Venezuela's political crisis escalated on January 23 when US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president, prompting President Nicolas Maduro to cut diplomatic ties with Washington. Russia, Mexico, China, Turkey, Uruguay and several other countries have come forward to reaffirm their support for Maduro as the country's only legitimate democratically-elected head of state.

In late January, in response to the political turmoil, the European Union announced the establishment of the ICG on Venezuela, which is made up of eight EU states and four Latin American countries. The ICG includes representatives from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom along with Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Uruguay. Mexico also participated in the discussions.

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.

Creating the ICG came after en EU ultimatum giving Maduro eight days to organize new presidential elections passed over the weekend. However, several EU countries have chosen to abstain from backing Guaido, including Italy, Ireland, Greece and Slovakia. Russia characterized the decision by some EU member states to recognize Guaido as "direct interference" in Venezuela's domestic affairs.

Thursday's meeting, co-hosted by the European Union, kicked off at 11:30 a.m. local time (2:00 p.m. GMT) at Torre Ejecutiva (the Executive Tower), the workplace of the president of Uruguay.

Mogherini during a press conference said the ICG talks were constructive and that the group agreed on a non-violent solution to the crisis in Venezuela.

"The group aims to forge a common international approach to support a peaceful, political, democratic and Venezuelan-owned resolution to the crisis, excluding the use of force, through free, transparent and credible presidential elections in accordance with the Venezuela constitution," Mogherini said on Thursday.

The EU foreign policy chief said the ICG aims to assist in facilitating the conditions to hold elections in the country in line with its constitution.

The European Union, she added, plans to open a humanitarian aid office in Venezuela soon to control the distribution of assistance.

Mogherini also said the ICG will send a technical mission to Venezuela to implement its goals.

In early March, the ICG will reconvene at a ministerial level to track the progress of the group's efforts in Venezuela, she added.

According to its documented mandate released last week, the ICG will terminate its work within 90 days "in the absence of sufficient progress."

Portugal's Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva told Sputnik on Thursday the ICG plans to inform the United Nations and the Vatican of its plans to resolve the ongoing political crisis in Venezuela.

Although progress appeared to have been made on Thursday some appeared uneasy about the group's aspirations.

Spain's Foreign Minister Josep Borrell told Sputnik that Bolivia is the only member of the International Contact Group (ICG) on Venezuela that disagreed with the outcome of ICG's meeting in Montevideo on Thursday.

"It's a positive outcome. Everybody agreed with the exception of Bolivia," Borrell said. "I think we will mobilize our political resources... toward the objective of moving the presidential elections in Venezuela.

"

Bolivian Foreign Minister Diego Pary told Sputnik the reason his country did not support the group's joint declaration.

"We do not support this declaration but Bolivia has joined the Montevideo mechanism. Bolivia will continue participating in this contact group. We do not support only this declaration," Pary said on Thursday. "There should not be any imposed solution. We should not tell Venezuelans what they should do. They are independent and they have a right for self-determination... They should find solutions to their problems themselves."

Russia had expected to be presented with an opportunity to join the work of a contact group on Venezuela but Moscow was told that the participation in the group's work as an observer was not possible, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik on Thursday.

The US government has been clear about its goals with respect to Venezuela. On Sunday, President Donald Trump confirmed in an interview with the CBS broadcaster that US military intervention in Venezuela was "an option."

Within days of recognizing Guaido the United States seized billions of Dollars' worth of Venezuela's oil assets. White House National Security John Bolton said the transition of power could be very beneficial for US energy companies.

The State Department also sent a clear message recently by appointing former Reagan-era official Elliott Abrams to be the US special envoy to Venezuela. Abrams, convicted in the Iran-Contra scandal, has a notorious history of trying to overthrow governments and is linked to war crimes in South America.

During the ICG meeting on Thursday, dozens of demonstrators peacefully protested in front of Uruguay's Executive Tower against US intervention in Venezuela and in support of Maduro, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

The protesters chanted slogans such as "US go home," and "Venezuela's oil belongs to people, stop inventing stories to steal it."

Many of the demonstrators waved Venezuelan flags and held signs that said "No to Intervention in Latin America," and "No to coup d'etat."

Participants in Thursday's talks expressed concerns about the ramifications of a US military intervention.

After the ICG meeting Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told Sputnik that use of force should be avoided by all means.

"I think we should avoid the use of force otherwise we can have something like a civil war in Venezuela and suffering of people," Ebrard said on Thursday.

Ebrard also said that any sanctions imposed on Venezuela will only exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the country. Unlike other countries, he added, like the United States, Mexico wants to see both parties inside Venezuela to open up talks.

The United States, not satisfied to sit on the sidelines, tried to undermine the talks in Uruguay on Thursday. Abrams during a special briefing at the State Department made it clear Washington has no patience for dialogue with Maduro.

"There are meetings yesterday and today in Uruguay about the crisis in Venezuela... one a Uruguay and Mexico led meeting and the other the international contact group on Venezuela," Abrams said on Thursday. "Instead of trying to accommodate Maduro through contact groups for dialogue we urge countries to recognize Juan Guaido as interim president... [and] urge all involved to deal solely with the legitimate Guaido government."

Abrams also announced that the United States had revoked the visas of members of the Venezuelan constituent assembly.

Maduro on Thursday joined a campaign to collect signatures on a letter to Trump against the possible US intervention in Venezuela, as aired by Maduro's Periscope channel.

Maduro has lashed out at his US counterpart suggesting that Washington sought to appropriate Venezuela's oil assets and is orchestrating a coup.