Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro attends a military exercise in Turiamo, Venezuela February 3, 2019. Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Maduro has written a letter to Pope Francis requesting to renew dialogue amid a political crisis and western pressure for him to step down, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

In an interview with Italian broadcaster Sky TG24, of which excerpts were released earlier on Monday, Maduro said he had sent the letter “for help in the process of facilitating and reinforcing dialogue.”