Venezuela Government and Opposition to Hold New Talks in About 10 Days, Rubio Says

A new round of talks between Venezuela's interim government and opposition will take place in about 10 days, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday.

"The next phase of these transition talks, facilitated by us, will take place in about 10 days," Rubio told Fox News radio. The government led by interim President Delcy Rodríguez and the Venezuelan opposition held their first dialogue cycle in August, with the talks focused on a political transition.

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The next phase of these transition talks, facilitated by us, will take place in about 10 days.

Washington launched the dialogue seven months after the U.S. military captured President Nicolás Maduro, ending more than a quarter-century of Chavista rule, according to the report. Rubio said the transition would move faster than those in Eastern Europe, where he said the process took four or five years.

"Here we can achieve it much more quickly. We are working on it tirelessly," Rubio said. He cautioned, however, that democratic elections involved more than simply holding a vote.

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Here we can achieve it much more quickly. We are working on it tirelessly.

The political discussions coincided with a visit to Caracas by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright. He was there to finalize a bilateral agreement that could allow Washington to control about one-fifth of Venezuela's oil reserves.

Rubio said the agreement would bring some short-term advantages while ensuring that the United States, rather than China, Russia or Iran, held a strategic position opposite the largest oil producer in the Americas.

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Democratic elections do not simply come down to holding an election.