Uruguay says transfer of Mercosur presidency to Venezuela to be postponed

Uruguay said on Monday that the decision whether to hand over the rotating presidency of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) bloc to Venezuela during the second half of 2016 would be postponed until Thursday.

"Each country is maintaining its position," said Foreign Minister of Uruguay Rodolfo Nin Novoa after a meeting with diplomats from Mercosur members, that include Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Venezuela.

The minister told a press conference that the decision would be "taken by consensus," adding that he hoped the handover of the presidency would be settled in the coming days.

Paraguay has maintained its public opposition to the handover of Mercosur presidency from Uruguay to Venezuela for weeks, saying the economic crisis and rising violence in Venezuela made it unsuitable to govern the bloc.

Last week, Brazil joined the dissenters, saying the handover should at least be postponed.

After the news was announced, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez criticized the two countries, saying that "officials from Paraguay and Brazil have only presented excuses while pretending to not know the Mercosur rules."

"Venezuela has every right, as per Mercosur's treaties, to receive the rotating presidency," the minister told the state-owned Venezolana de Television in Montevideo.

The rotating presidency of the bloc is passed from member to member every six months, in alphabetical order.

（APD）