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.
A Norwegian delegation arrives in Venezuela to restart dialogues to end the presidential crisis.