Nicaragua government, opposition agree on 'roadmap' for talks

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's leftist government and the opposition have agreed a "roadmap" for extended peace talks to resolve 10 months of crisis sparked by a deadly crackdown on dissent in which hundreds of people were killed.

The breakthrough was announced late Tuesday by Vatican ambassador to Nicaragua, Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, after five days of talks in the capital Managua between the government and the opposition Civic Alliance.

"The roadmap was approved," Sommertag, who participated in the talks, told a press conference alongside Foreign Minister Denis Moncada.

However, the talks were temporarily suspended on Wednesday pending the response of the Catholic Church to an invitation from both sides to participate as an observer at the talks, along with the Evangelical church.

The Cardinal Archbishop of Managua, Leopoldo Brenes, said he would respond to the invitation on Friday after consulting bishops. The Catholic Church mediated a previous round of peace talks that .