CARACAS (Reuters) - Norway said on Saturday that representatives of Venezuela's government and opposition will return to Oslo next week following an initial round of preliminary talks about how to address the country's political crisis.
"We announce that the representatives of the main political actors in Venezuela have decided to return to Oslo next week to continue a process facilitated by Norway," the Scandinavian country's foreign ministry said in a statement.
"We reiterate our commitment to continue supporting the search for an agreed-upon solution between the parties in Venezuela," it said.
Venezuela has been plunged into political turmoil this year as opposition leader Juan Guaido invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency, dismissing President Nicolas Maduro's 2018 re-election as a fraud. More than 50 countries, including the United States and many members of the European Union, now see Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate leader.
Maduro, who maintains control over state institutions amid a hyperinflationary economic meltdown and humanitarian crisis, calls Guaido a puppet of Washington.
The Venezuelan information ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the announcement. Guaido's press team said it would comment shortly.
The ruling Socialist Party has endorsed the talks, but opposition sympathizers remain skeptical, arguing that Maduro has previously used dialogue as a stalling tactic to maintain his grip on power while living standards steadily declined in the oil-rich nation.
Last week, opposition lawmaker Stalin Gonzalez and two advisors represented Guaido's side, while Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez and Miranda state governor Hector Rodriguez went to Oslo on behalf of the government.
Each side met separately with Norwegian mediators, but there was no face-to-face meeting between government and opposition representatives, Gonzalez told local media.
(Reporting by Brian Ellsworth, editing by G Crosse)