CARACAS, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he has proposed creating a "permanent negotiating table" between the ruling socialist party and the U.S.-backed opposition.
"I have proposed creating a permanent mechanism for dialogue, a permanent negotiation table, which is capable of withstanding any storm, any difficulty, any situation -- dialogue, dialogue for peace," Maduro said in a recent interview with Xinhua.
Maduro said he has also proposed that the two sides discuss the main problems facing Venezuela and "seek agreed-on, shared solutions."
The president insisted that dialogue is the only means to overcome the political deadlock in his country.
Venezuela's government has resumed dialogue with the opposition, after briefly walking away from the talks to protest stepped-up U.S. sanctions, which were aimed at choking off the government's access to capital, especially U.S. dollars, and undermining the rule of President Maduro.
Opposition leader Juan Guaido decided in January not to recognize Maduro, and declared himself "interim president" of the nation, sparking a lasting crisis in the country.
