Venezuela govt, opponents plan dialogue: papal envoy
Venezuela's socialist government and the opposition aim to open talks on October 30 to resolve the political crisis in the volatile nation, a Vatican envoy said on Monday.
The sides met earlier in the day and "started a national dialogue with the purpose of establishing conditions for holding a plenary meeting on October 30," Emil Paul Tscherrig, the Vatican's envoy to Argentina, told a news conference.
The Vatican's intervention came at a time of high tension in the South American country, where the center right-dominated opposition is seeking to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power.
The opposition has accused him of staging a coup d'etat by blocking their efforts to hold a referendum on whether he should remain in power.
Maduro himself attended a private audience with Pope Francis on Monday, the Vatican said in a statement.
The pope "urged (the parties) to show courage in pursuing the path of sincere and constructive dialogue," it said.
The opposition accuses Maduro of pushing Venezuela to the brink of economic collapse.
The oil-rich country is suffering shortages of food and basic supplies.
The papal envoy said the sides aimed to open the talks on Isla Margarita, a Venezuelan island in the Caribbean.
The talks will seek "to improve the economic, social, political and institutional circumstances that are fundamental for democratic harmony."
He said Monday's preliminary meeting "took place in a respectful, cordial atmosphere of political will."
According to Tscherrig, the meeting was supervised by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), a 12-country regional cooperation bloc.