Pope Francis on Tuesday expressed willingness for the Vatican to mediate Venezuela's mounting crisis if both sides seek it. Russia, which along with China has backed Maduro in the crisis, underscored its view that the crisis can be resolved only with negotiations between the government and opposition. Critics have called last year's disputed presidential vote in which Maduro won re-election a sham, and the mainstream opposition boycotted it. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Venezuela crisis could be solved only by getting the authorities and opposition to talk to each other, Russia's RIA news agency reported. Caption: Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido talks to the media before a session of the National Assembly in Caracas.

Source: bd News24 February 05, 2019 20:26 UTC