Brazil and Colombia Steer Diplomatic Efforts to Resolve Venezuelan Electoral Crisis

Brazil and Colombia's presidents, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Gustavo Petro, will discuss negotiating an end to Venezuela's crisis over a phone call. This decision follows the withdrawal of Mexico’s president from a three-way initiative. Both countries urge transparency in Venezuela's contested election results.

The presidents of Brazil and Colombia will discuss options for negotiating an end to the Venezuelan crisis in a phone call on Wednesday, according to sources involved in the talks who spoke to Reuters.

The phone call involving Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro was arranged following Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's decision to pull out of a three-way presidential initiative on Venezuela's contested election, the sources added. Brazil and Colombia have been coordinating diplomatic efforts to address the crisis fueled by Venezuela's disputed July 28 election, which both the government and opposition claim to have won.

Lula and Petro have called for the release of detailed voting tallies from Venezuelan authorities. Mexican President López Obrador indicated on Tuesday that he would refrain from participating in further talks with Brazil and Colombia, opting to wait for a review by Venezuela's Supreme Court of the election results.

After being informed of the Mexican president's withdrawal, Lula and Petro decided to proceed with the talks, according to a Brazilian official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Brazilian and Colombian presidents aim to arrange a telephone conversation with Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, the sources disclosed.

Brazil and Colombia do not plan to recognize the election result or Maduro's victory until the vote tallies are fully disclosed, said the Brazilian sources.

(With inputs from agencies.)