Carter, who departed Wednesday, failed to broker a face-to-face meeting between
                 President Hugo Chavez and Venezuela's leading opposition parties. But the leftist
                 government signaled it will accept outside mediation to resolve a stalemate that
                 produced a brief April coup.

                 Though empty chairs at Tuesday's meeting were "a great disappointment," Carter
                 said: "I see hope and I expect to see efforts to initiate and conclude dialogue. I have
                 full faith that the opposition will cooperate."

                 "There's a mixture of opinions among the opposition," Carter told a news
                 conference. "Some are singularly focused on removing Chavez from office. The
                 overwhelming majority want reconciliation."

                 Chavez invited Carter to help him save government-sponsored reconciliation talks
                 that began after an April coup. Leading participants dropped out, saying Chavez is
                 unwilling to hear their complaints.

                 Carter said Chavez seemed "eager" to discuss opposition concerns, including
                 Chavez's inflammatory leftist rhetoric; his bickering with the business community;
                 claims he is politicizing the military; a stalled investigation into fatal shootings at an
                 opposition march in April; neighborhood political groups that harass dissenters; and
                 a judiciary stacked with government allies.

                 Venezuela's main opposition parties insist Chavez must go well before his term ends
                 in 2007. They have filed court cases alleging corruption and are organizing a
                 referendum to shorten his term.

                 Even before Carter arrived Saturday, Venezuela's opposition rejected his mission as
                 a ploy by Chavez to buy time for his embattled government. They insisted the
                 Organization of American States mediate talks, a proposal the government had
                 refused.

                 Carter said Chavez offered a compromise: Having the OAS sponsor an initial
                 dialogue. Another entity, either local or international, would be created to mediate
                 on a permanent basis.

                 The Carter Center will keep staff in Venezuela to get both sides talking, as well as
                 monitor an opposition march on Thursday.

                 A grenade attack on the independent Globovision television station produced fresh
                 anger Tuesday. No one was hurt, and there were no arrests. But Chavez's
                 opposition accused the government, which also denounced the attack.

                 The Inter-American Press Association, Reporters Without Borders, the Venezuelan
                 Bloque de Prensa media group and other watchdogs condemned the incident. Carter
                 deplored the attack but said he believed that "freedom of speech is as alive in
                 Venezuela as in any other country."

                 The bombing followed several acts of aggression against Venezuelan journalists.
                 Chavez has accused much of the nation's news media of siding with the opposition
                 and distorting his accomplishments.

                  Copyright 2002 The Associated Press.