Rare high-level talks between Venezuela’s government and opposition have taken place in Norway, an ambassador for the embattled country has confirmed.
The government and the opposition have been engaged in a bitter power struggle since January.
Guaido, who calls Maduro’s 2018 re-election fraudulent, called for Venezuela’s military to rise up on April 30, but his push quickly petered out and the military’s top brass has since then sworn allegiance to Maduro.
But reports of a meeting between the two sides in Norway’s capital Oslo emerged on Thursday.
Those reports were confirmed by Jorge Valero, Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.
The timing of the talks is a surprise. They come just days after 10 opposition lawmakers were stripped of their immunity and charged with treason, and shortly after opposition leader Juan Guaido said he was considering asking the US to launch a military intervention to oust President Nicolás Maduro from power.
Previous attempts at meditation between the two Venezuelan sides have failed, with the opposition alleging the government only engaged in them to divide their rivals and buy time.
Norway has a tradition of conflict mediation, including assistance with Colombia’s 2016 peace deal between the government and FARC rebels