Venezuela confirmed yesterday that it has closed its embassy in Oslo, three days after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, AFP reported.
The Venezuelan government, which has not yet reacted to Machado's Nobel Prize, said in a statement that it would proceed with a "complete restructuring" to its foreign affairs services.
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had earlier announced the closure of the Venezuelan embassy, but said it had not received any explanation.
"We were informed by the Venezuelan embassy that it was closing, without giving a reason", a ministry spokeswoman told AFP.
"This is regrettable. Despite our differences on a number of issues, Norway wishes to maintain an open dialogue with Venezuela and will continue to work in this direction," she added.
Venezuela also announced the closure of its embassy in Australia. On the other hand, Caracas has indicated that it wants to open diplomatic missions in Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso, countries it considers "strategic partners in the fight against hegemonic pressure".
Machado said yesterday in a videoconference interview with AFP that she was convinced that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro "will leave power with or without negotiations".
"At the moment, Maduro has the opportunity to take a step towards a peaceful transition [...] With or without negotiations, he will leave power", said the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, who has been living in hiding for more than a year.