PARÍS, France – The European Union and several of its member governments gave embattled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro an ultimatum on Saturday, saying they would…
PARÍS, France – The European Union and several of its member governments gave embattled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro an ultimatum on Saturday, saying they would recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as president unless he calls elections within eight days.
But Venezuela’s foreign minister rejected the warnings, saying “nobody is going to give us deadlines or tell us if there are elections or not”.
The coordinated announcements are the most explicit yet from EU countries as the 28-member bloc struggles to draft a joint statement with regards to its position on the crisis in Venezuela.
Here is a roundup of European statements after the United States, Canada and major South American governments recognized Guaido, who proclaimed himself acting president in a challenge to Maduro.
The European Union “will take further actions” if new elections are not called in Venezuela in the coming days, EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said. This would include “the issue of recognition of the country’s leadership”.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, was the first EU leader to issue an ultimatum, saying that “if within eight days there are no fair, free and transparent elections called in Venezuela, Spain will recognize Juan Guaido as Venezuelan president”.
