UN chief says ready to offer good offices to support possible dialogue in Venezuela

UNITED NATIONS -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday expressed the availability of his good offices to support a possible inclusive national dialogue in Venezuela, his spokesperson said.

Speaking to reporters at a daily briefing, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the UN chief had just concluded a meeting with Venezuelan UN ambassador Samuel Moncada, which lasted about 45 minutes.

"During the meeting, the secretary-general reiterated his publicly-stated position on the US military action in Venezuela," said Dujarric.

In remarks to the UN Security Council on Monday, delivered on his behalf by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo, Guterres said he was "deeply concerned about the possible intensification of instability in the country, the potential impact on the region, and the precedent it may set for how relations between and among states are conducted."

"I remain deeply concerned that rules of international law have not been respected with regard to the Jan 3 military action," said the UN chief, who also called on all Venezuelan actors to engage in an inclusive, democratic dialogue in which all sectors of society can determine their future.

In the early hours of Jan 3, US military forces carried out a series of strikes on Venezuela, taking by force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, before putting them in custody in New York, which sparked widespread condemnation.