Mexico is open to mediating Venezuela crisis, president says

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that Mexico was willing to serve as a mediator between the opposing sides in Venezuela after President Nicolas Maduro announced that he was open to having a third party help end the political crisis in the South American country.

“Mexico has its doors open so that a peaceful path can be found to resolving Venezuela’s conflict,” Lopez Obrador, the founder and leader of the leftist National Regeneration Movement (Morena), said during his daily press conference at the National Palace.

The president said Mexico proposed that the parties sit down and talk.

“That’s the best thing, find a peaceful way (out of) the conflict in Venezuela,” Lopez Obrador, popularly known as AMLO, said.

Mexico’s foreign policy emphasizes seeking peaceful resolutions to disputes, AMLO said.

“We’re willing to help so that a dialogue can take place,” the president said, noting that this was the Mexican tradition in foreign policy.

The president warned, however, that there must be “acceptance by the opposition group” before a dialogue could take place.

“The two parties have to request it. Request it, and we will help. We have already said that there are very good diplomats in Mexico and we even talked about mediation by diplomats,” Lopez Obrador said.

AMLO said it would be a positive move to use Mexico as the location for any dialogue.

“The peace agreement for El Salvador was signed in this country and there have also been meetings to find negotiated solutions, non-violent, to conflicts,” Lopez Obrador said.

On Saturday, Maduro asked Mexico, Bolivia, Uruguay and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to reactivate the Montevideo process, an initiative to promote dialogue between the opposing sides in Venezuela.

“I call on the president of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, I call on the president of Uruguay, Dr. Tabare Vazquez, I call on the president of Bolivia, Evo Morales , I call on the ... the 14 governments of Caricom to retake the dialogue initiative agreed to in Montevideo,” Maduro said.

Speaking at the Miraflores presidential palace, where thousands of supporters gathered after a pro-government march, Maduro said he was seeking support for “a great peace dialogue” that would lead to “understanding between Venezuelans.”

The Montevideo process, which was launched in February by Mexico, Uruguay and Caricom, with Bolivia joining later, seeks a resolution of the crisis in Venezuela via dialogue and negotiations.

The opposition, led by National Assembly Speaker Juan Guaido, has said on numerous occasions that it would only back a dialogue that resulted in Maduro stepping down.

Dozens of countries, including the United States, consider Maduro’s re-election victory last year to be fraudulent and have recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s interim head of state.

China, Russia and India are among the dozens of countries that continue to support Maduro.

Guaido proclaimed himself acting president on Jan. 23 and since then has unsuccessfully called on the Venezuelan military to withdraw its support for Maduro.

The ongoing political standoff in Venezuela comes amid a severe economic crisis marked by shortages of basic goods and hyperinflation.