If both sides asked for it, Pope Francis said Tuesday, the Vatican would be willing to mediate in Venezuela, but cautioned preliminary steps to try to bring both sides closer together should be taken first, Reuters reported.
Francis, who is returning from a trip to Abu Dhabi, told reporters he has received a letter from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, but had not read it yet, the report said.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported, Maduro told Italian broadcaster Sky TG24 Monday he had sent a letter to the pope “for help in the process of facilitating and reinforcing dialogue.”
Asked about Vatican mediation, the report said, Pope Francis said: “I will read the letter and see what can be done but the initial condition is that both sides ask for it. We are willing.”
Previous rounds of dialogue have failed, Reuters reported, including one lead by the Vatican, opponents are leery of further discussions, saying Maduro uses them to quell protests and buy time.
The pope added a formal mediation should be seen as the last step in diplomacy, the wire agency reported. He said some preliminary steps had to be taken first by the Vatican and other members of the international community.
He explained the preliminary steps should include efforts to “to try to bring one (side) closer to the other, to start a process of dialogue,” Reuters reported.
The pope spoke as major European nations joined the United States in recognising opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state, while members of a separate regional bloc kept up the pressure on Maduro, the report concluded.
– WN.com, Jack Durschlag