Pope Francis said on Tuesday that the Vatican would be willing to mediate in Venezuela if both sides asked, but preliminary steps to try to bring them closer together should be taken first. Asked about a possible direct mediation effort by the Vatican, the pope said: "I will read the letter and see what can be done but the initial condition is that both sides ask for it. We are willing. "Given the failure of previous rounds of dialogue, including one led by the Vatican, opponents are suspicious, believing Maduro uses them to quell protests and buy time.Francis added that a formal mediation should be seen as the last step in diplomacy. He said some preliminary steps had to be taken first by the Vatican and other members of the international community.

Source: dna February 05, 2019 17:26 UTC