Putin to Maduro: Russia backs talks between Venezuela's govt, opposition

President Vladimir Putin told his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro at talks in Moscow on Wednesday that Russia supported dialogue between the government and opposition to find a way out of Venezuela's political crisis. Venezuela's opposition said earlier this month that a dialogue mediated by Norway to try to resolve the crisis in Venezuela had ended, six weeks after Maduro's government suspended its participation.

Maduro's representatives walked away from the table in August to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's tightening of sanctions on the OPEC nation. Moscow has been one of Maduro's biggest backers in the face of what it has described as U.S. efforts to undermine him.