Venezuela: Vatican-backed talks are 'last chance' for peace
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-37880830 Version 0 of 1. Talks between Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition are the "last best effort" to finding a peaceful solution to the country's political impasse, a US official says. US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon said if the talks failed, it could lead to both sides "putting people on the streets". He said such a result would be very dangerous. It comes after President Maduro rejected calls for an early election. "From our point of view [the dialogue] really is the last best effort to try to find a negotiated, peaceful solution to this," said Mr Shannon. He added that it would "unpredictable and can be very dangerous" if Venezuela found itself in a state where either side had to "measure themselves through their ability to put people on to the streets". Mr Shannon's comments come at the end of a week that saw the progress which had been made at the talks, mediated by a Vatican envoy and former international leaders from Spain, the Dominican Republic and Panama, slowly fall apart. Mr Maduro remains at loggerheads with the opposition, which dominates the National Assembly after a landslide victory in last year's elections. He faces calls to step down amid a worsening economic crisis in the country. Last month, hundreds of thousands of people protested in the capital Caracas after opposition calls for a referendum on Mr Maduro's leadership were rejected. Mr Maduro was elected in 2013 to replace his late mentor Hugo Chavez, but has seen his popularity plummet to just over 20% amid an unprecedented economic crisis. |