By Laura Gamba
BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Colombia’s president announced Tuesday that he plans to convene an international conference that will seek to “promote dialogue between sectors of Venezuela.”
The move comes less than a week after Gustavo Petro met with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro in the capital Caracas.
"I will convene an international conference in Colombia with the objective of building the roadmap that allows effective political dialogue between society and the Venezuelan government," Petro wrote on Twitter.
In a statement, the government said the meeting of representatives of countries in Europe and Latin America as well as the US would take place in the capital Bogota on a date "to be defined."
"The president will seek a direct dialogue with the Venezuelan opposition at the meeting, the date of which has not been agreed, but will be defined after Easter," the statement said.
Petro held talks last week with Maduro in their third meeting since the two countries resumed diplomatic relations after a three-year break.
The joint fight against drug trafficking, collaboration on the border and the opening of consulates were among the issues they discussed.
Dialogue between the Venezuelan government and the opposition appears to have stalled, despite talks being the only hope the US will lift sanctions on the Latin American country.
The leader of the Venezuelan opposition, Juan Guaido, responded to the Colombian president by assuring him that there is no need for a new negotiating process and that what is really needed is the political will to continue negotiations.
“Gustavo Petro, there is already a process in place, a negotiation facilitated by the Norwegians with international support. The roadmap is clear: free elections in 2024. What is missing is the political will by Maduro to go beyond rhetoric to concrete measures that will allow progress,” Guaido said on Twitter.