CARACAS: A delegation from the Norwegian government has come to Venezuela to restart talks between the government of President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition that were halted last week after Maduro’s allies pulled out, according to four sources and opposition leader Juan Guaido.

 Maduro last week said the government would not attend a scheduled round of talks in Barbados to protest the opposition’s support for new US sanctions against his government. The Norwegian delegation arrived on Tuesday to speak separately with the opposition and the government to restart the proceedings, which are meant to resolve the country’s political stalemate, two of the sources said.

 Neither Venezuela’s Information Ministry nor the Norwegian Foreign Ministry responded to requests for comment.

 “There is no new (meeting) planned, but yes, the representatives of the Kingdom of Norway are here in the country,” Guaido told reporters. “The regime in previous years used (dialogue) to stall for time or to generate doubts within the opposition. They will not do so in this case.”

 Guaido in January invoked the constitution to assume a rival interim presidency on the grounds that Maduro’s 2018 re-election was fraudulent, and has promised to end an economic crisis that spurred mass migration.

 Guaido, who has been recognised by more than 50 countries including the United States as Venezuela’s legitimate president, described the new Washington sanctions as “penalties for those who steal and profit from misery.”

 Maduro calls Guaido a Washington-backed puppet who is seeking to overthrow his government.

 The Norway-backed talks began in May following a failed uprising against Maduro but have not yet yielded any official results.

 Separately, the United Nations launched an appeal on Wednesday calling for $223 million of humanitarian aid for 2.6 million Venezuelans until the end of the year as part of a “scale-up strategy” launched last October. — Reuters </s> CARACAS (Reuters) - A delegation from the Norwegian government has come to Venezuela to restart talks between the government of President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition that were halted last week after Maduro’s allies pulled out, according to four sources and opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognised as the country's rightful interim ruler, talks to the media as he attends a session of Venezuela's National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero

Maduro last week said the government would not attend a scheduled round of talks in Barbados to protest the opposition’s support for new U.S. sanctions against his government.

The Norwegian delegation arrived on Tuesday to speak separately with the opposition and the government to restart the proceedings, which are meant to resolve the country’s political stalemate, two of the sources said.

Neither Venezuela’s Information Ministry nor the Norwegian Foreign Ministry responded to requests for comment.

“There is no new (meeting) planned, but yes, the representatives of the Kingdom of Norway are here in the country,” Guaido told reporters. “The regime in previous years used (dialogue) to stall for time or to generate doubts within the opposition. They will not do so in this case.”

Guaido in January invoked the constitution to assume a rival interim presidency on the grounds that Maduro’s 2018 re-election was fraudulent, and has promised to end an economic crisis that spurred mass migration.

Guaido, who has been recognized by more than 50 countries including the United States as Venezuela’s legitimate president, described the new Washington sanctions as “penalties for those who steal and profit from misery.”

Maduro calls Guaido a Washington-backed puppet who is seeking to overthrow his government.

The Norway-backed talks began in May following a failed uprising against Maduro but have not yet yielded any official results.

Separately, the United Nations launched an appeal on Wednesday calling for $223 million of humanitarian aid for 2.6 million Venezuelans until the end of the year as part of a “scale-up strategy” launched last October.

The appeal includes 98 projects that will be implemented by more than 60 U.N. agencies and partners, and covers health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, education, food security and protection, the United Nations said.

“It seeks to strengthen the capacity of humanitarian organizations and further open the operational space in country, thus laying the foundation to widen the response and reach a larger target population in 2020,” the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. </s> CARACAS (Reuters) - A delegation from the Norwegian government has come to Venezuela to restart talks between the government of President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition that were halted last week after Maduro’s allies pulled out, four sources familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

Maduro last week said the government would not attend a scheduled round of talks in Barbados to protest the opposition’s support for new U.S. sanctions against his government.

The Norwegian delegation arrived on Tuesday to speak separately with the opposition and the government to restart the proceedings, which are meant to resolve the country’s political stalemate, two of the sources said.

Neither Venezuela’s Information Ministry nor the Norwegian Foreign Ministry responded to requests for comment.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido in January invoked the constitution to assume a rival interim presidency on the grounds that Maduro’s 2018 re-election was fraudulent and has promised to end an economic crisis that spurred mass migration.

Guaido, who has been recognized by more than 50 countries including the United States as Venezuela’s legitimate president, described the new Washington sanctions as “penalties for those who steal and profit from misery.”

Maduro calls Guaido a Washington-backed puppet who is seeking to overthrow his government.

The Norway-backed talks began in May following a failed uprising against Maduro but have not yet yielded any official results. </s> CARACAS — A delegation from the Norwegian government has come to Venezuela to restart talks between the government of President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition that were halted last week after Maduro’s allies pulled out, four sources familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

Maduro last week said the government would not attend a scheduled round of talks in Barbados to protest the opposition’s support for new U.S. sanctions against his government.

The Norwegian delegation arrived on Tuesday to speak separately with the opposition and the government to restart the proceedings, which are meant to resolve the country’s political stalemate, two of the sources said.

Neither Venezuela’s Information Ministry nor the Norwegian Foreign Ministry responded to requests for comment.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido in January invoked the constitution to assume a rival interim presidency on the grounds that Maduro’s 2018 re-election was fraudulent, and has promised to end an economic crisis that spurred mass migration.

Guaido, who has been recognized by more than 50 countries including the United States as Venezuela’s legitimate president, described the new Washington sanctions as “penalties for those who steal and profit from misery.”

Maduro calls Guaido a Washington-backed puppet who is seeking to overthrow his government.

The Norway-backed talks began in May following a failed uprising against Maduro but have not yet yielded any official results.

Separately, the United Nations launched an appeal on Wednesday calling for $223 million for humanitarian aid to 2.6 million Venezuelan children, women and men until the end of the year as part of a “scale-up strategy” launched last October.

The appeal includes 98 projects that will be implemented by more than 60 U.N. agencies and partners, and covers health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, education, food security and protection, the United Nations said.

“It seeks to strengthen the capacity of humanitarian organizations and further open the operational space in country, thus laying the foundation to widen the response and reach a larger target population in 2020,” the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. (Reporting by Mayela Armas, Vivian Sequera and Deisy Buitrago in Caracas and Michelle Nichols in New York Writing by Brian Ellsworth Editing by Bill Trott and Jonathan Oatis) </s> Representatives from Norway are in Venezuela to try to kick-start crisis talks between the government and opposition, parliament speaker Juan Guaido said on Wednesday.

[CARACAS] Representatives from Norway are in Venezuela to try to kick-start crisis talks between the government and opposition, parliament speaker Juan Guaido said on Wednesday.

Negotiations to end the political crisis sparked when opposition leader Mr Guaido pronounced himself acting president in January, began in Oslo in May.

But President Nicolas Maduro called off the talks a week ago in response to new United States sanctions against his government.

"There's no programed date" to restart the talks, "but yes, representatives of... Norway are here," said Mr Guaido.

They are "persisting with the negotiation mechanism," he said.

The US is one of more than 50 countries to have recognised Mr Guaido as interim president.

Mr Guaido made his claim after the opposition-controlled legislature branded Mr Maduro a "usurper" over his re-election last year in a poll widely viewed as rigged.

Mr Guaido wants Mr Maduro to step down so new elections can be held, but the socialist leader has dismissed that demand out of hand.

Last week, Mr Maduro did leave room for the talks to recommence, and Mr Guaido says the government delegates will come back to the negotiating table "sooner or later".

Talks began in Oslo in May before being moved to Barbados where several rounds have been held since the start of July.

In addition to the political standoff, Venezuela is suffering one of the worst economic crises in its history with a quarter of its 30 million population in need of aid, according to the United Nations. </s> Venezuela's constitutional assembly has ordered presidential elections by April 30 as the ruling socialist party seeks to consolidate its grip on power amid a worsening economic crisis.

The proposal was approved unanimously by delegates during a session Tuesday by the pro-government assembly.

According to Venezuela's constitution, a new six-year presidential term must begin in January 2019. While elections can be held any time before then, recent votes have been held toward the end of the year to avoid an extended transition period.

Speculation has grown in recent weeks that elections would be held in the first part of the year to take advantage of divisions among the opposition, which has been struggling to capitalize on growing discontent with Maduro. </s> CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó on Wednesday cast doubt on President Nicolás Maduro's claim that he is overseeing secret talks with the United States, saying it only reflects disarray within the Venezuelan government.

Guaidó spoke a day after Maduro and President Donald Trump said high-level officials in their respective administrations have been meeting about ending the South American nation's deepening crisis.

In his first public remarks about the matter, Guaidó said the Venezuelan government was dysfunctional and that its hardliners would be disappointed to hear about alleged talks with the U.S.

"What's clear are the contradictions of the regime," he said at an event in Caracas. "How many times have we seen how disorganized the regime is? If they've been effective in anything, it's communications, propaganda, lies for years."

Guaidó comments focused on dialogue and foreign diplomacy more than he has in the past, as a delegation of opposition leaders this week travel to Washington to fine tune their strategy for forcing Maduro from power.

Meanwhile, Maduro has sent two members of his government to Russia. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López recently visited Moscow to fortify military ties, and Vice President Delcy Rodriguez met Wednesday with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in talks aimed at expanding economic, military and other relations between the two nations.

David Smilde, a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America, who has spent decades researching Venezuela, said these parallel trips demonstrate the critical role that Russia and the United States have taken in Venezuela's conflict.

"They're having their own high level meetings with Russia, while the opposition is in D.C.," Smilde said. "This shows the level that this is a geopolitical conflict."

Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela have been escalating since early this year when Guaidó, head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, declared the constitution gives him presidential powers because Maduro's election last year was a fraud. But despite his widespread international backing, Guaidó has been unable to loosen Maduro's grip on power and in particular, the military.

The Associated Press reported over the weekend that the United States has made secret contact with socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello as close allies of Maduro's inner circle seek guarantees they won't face prosecution for alleged abuses and crimes if they cede to growing demands to step down from power.

Maduro said on national television Tuesday that talks had long been underway between officials in his government and the U.S. administration.

"We've had secret meetings in secret places with secret people that nobody knows," Maduro said, adding that all talks had been carried out under his "direct" authorization. "Sure there's been contact and we'll continue having contact."

However, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton tweeted Wednesday that Maduro must be removed and that the talks don't involve him. "The only items discussed by those who are reaching out behind Maduro's back are his departure and free and fair elections," Bolton tweeted.

As he took questions from reporters Tuesday, Trump confirmed his administration is talking to "various representatives of Venezuela" but refused to say whether the White House is specifically talking to Cabello.

"I don't want to say who," he said. "But we're talking at a very high level."

A U.S. official told the AP the goal is not to prop up Cabello or pave the way for him to substitute Maduro, but to ratchet up pressure on the regime by contributing to the knife fight the U.S. believes is taking place behind the scenes among competing circles of power within the ruling party.

Many saw negotiations hosted by Norway on the Caribbean island of Barbados between the Maduro government and its opposition as Venezuela's best chance at resolving the crisis. Then, Bolton unveiled a new round of harsh sanctions this month, which prompted Maduro to pull out.

Smilde and other analysts said that communication between the U.S. and Venezuela unveiled this week is a positive sign.

John Polga-Hecimovich, a political scientist at the U.S. Naval Academy, said it's unclear to what extent, if any, Guaidó is involved in the talks. If the communication is in fact unilateral between the Trump and Maduro administrations, it would make the opposition appear weakened.

"The direct dialogue speaks to the limitations of the opposition," he said.

The development comes just weeks after the U.S. Treasury Department slapped tough new sanctions against the Venezuelan government that would target even foreign companies that do business with the Maduro administration.

Analysts said it's not surprising that a backroom dialogue between U.S. and Venezuelan officials remains active.

"The situation is in such a deadlock that I imagine the U.S. is looking for a way to open other pathways," said Venezuelan analyst Carlos Romero. "Ones that are less belligerent than they've used up till now." </s> A free trade agreement between China and Norway is expected 'sometime next year' as productive discussions are continuing between the two nations, Norway's top envoy in China said on Oct 9.

'The FTA with China is a priority for Norway,' Geir O. Pedersen, Norwegian ambassador to China, said at a news briefing in Beijing.

Pedersen said Norway 'has the same ambitions as before. We believe it is more important than ever to deepen and develop political dialogue, economic dialogue, exchange of tourists and investment, and have trade (with China)'.

Last month, China and Norway concluded the 12th round of FTA negotiations in Beijing. China is currently discussing signing or upgrading FTAs with 27 countries.

Starting on Oct 11, Norwegian King Harald V and Queen Sonja will make a state visit to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.

It will be the couple's first visit to China since China and Norway normalized their diplomatic ties in December 2016. It is also their fourth visit to the country since their first trip in 1985.

'The visit is a political and symbolic expression of the deepening relationship between China and Norway,' Pedersen said.

Besides Beijing, the couple's 10-day trip also will take them to Dunhuang, Gansu province; Shanghai; and Changshu and Suzhou in Jiangsu province.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Oct 9 that China considers the visit an important opportunity that will help China and Norway deepen mutual trust, expand cooperation and facilitate people-to-people exchanges, thus advancing their relationship.

Joining the king and queen is a Norwegian business delegation of 340 people representing 140 companies.

'It will be the largest business delegation ever from Norway to China,' said Knut Sorlie, the embassy's commercial counsellor. </s> MARGARITA ISLAND, Venezuela (AP) — Crisis-hit Venezuela's economic and political problems are keeping world leaders away from a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement that was supposed to hit its full stride on Saturday.

Only eight heads of state have confirmed their presence for the two days of meetings taking place on the Caribbean island of Margarita, including the leaders of Iran, Cuba and Zimbabwe. More than 30 heads of state attended the last summit of the Cold War-era group in Iran in 2012.

President Nicolas Maduro had been touting the meeting as an opportunity to solidify his international credentials.

Youth jump on a trampoline set up on the beach at a pro-government camp in Porlamar on Margarita Island, Venezuela, Friday, Sept. 16, 2016. Hundreds of teenage activists are sleeping in tents and enjoying free concerts on the beach as foreign delegates arrive to attend the non-aligned summit held by a Cold War-era group of 120 nations. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

But the low turnout after months of shuttle diplomacy handing out invitations is likely to embolden Maduro's opponents, who are pushing for a recall referendum to remove him from office before his term ends in 2019.

A statue of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez is unveiled during the 17th Non Aligned Summit, a meeting held by a Cold War-era group of 120 nations, in Porlamar on Margarita Island, Venezuela, Friday, Sept 16, 2016. The statue is made of bronze and measures just over three meters. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

A couple sit in a tent at a camp set up by government supporters in Porlamar, Margarita Island, Venezuela, Friday, Sept 16, 2016. Hundreds of activists are sleeping in tents and enjoying free concerts on the beach as foreign delegates arrive to attend the non-aligned summit held by a Cold War-era group of 120 nations. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
A Norwegian delegation arrives in Venezuela to restart dialogues to end the presidential crisis.