TOKYO, Feb 4 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday recognised Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president and said he should organise new elections as soon as possible.

“Guaido is the person with whom we are talking and who we expect to initiate an election process as quickly as possible and he is the legitimate interim president for this task from the German perspective and also from the perspective of many European partners,” Merkel told a news conference during a visit to Tokyo.

“And we hope that this process is as short as possible and of course peaceful,” she added.