EU foreign ministers will meet in Bucharest on Thursday at the Council of the European Union Foreign Affairs to consider their next step in relation to the Venezuelan situation.

The developments in the south American country resulted in the EU28 member-states condemning Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a resolution, which Greece was forced to co-sign, but SYRIZA rejected the vote.

Greece, according to diplomatic sources cites by the Athens News Agency (AMNA), has consistently argued that, to the extent that the EU is interested in reaching a solution in Venezuela and supports the holding of elections, it must actively engage with its own diplomatic initiative in the country.

Recognising the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, National Assembly President Juan Guaido as de facto President of the country, without at least launching a European diplomatic initiative to create conditions for free elections, would be an irresponsible attitude, especially given the major risks to civilian conflicts, in a politically and socially polarised society, according to the same sources

Britain, Spain, France, and Germany have warned Nicolas Maduro if he did not hold an election within eight days, they would recognise Juan Guaido as the country’s president.

Maduro has said that if they want elections, they should wait until 2025.

Venezuela plunged into a political crisis on 23 January when Juan Guaido declared himself the interim president of Venezuela.

Almost immediately, within a matter of hours, the Trump administration recognised Guaido as the ‘legal president’ of Venezuela and rejected Maduro’s government as illegal.

Certain countries including Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia, backed the self-declared president Guaido, and called for ‘a transparent election’ in Venezuela.

However, other countries including Iran, Russia, China, Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Turkey threw their full weight behind Maduro, describing Guaido’s move as a coup attempt against the country’s legal government.