MONTEVIDEO, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Uruguay's President Tabare Vazquez said Thursday that crisis-racked Venezuela must choose "between war and peace."

"The biggest choice facing Venezuela is between war and peace, that is why we are persistently calling for serenity on the sides involved and for prudence from the international community," said Vazquez.

Vazquez made the remarks at the opening of a meeting of the International Contact Group on Venezuela in Uruguay's capital Montevideo, a gathering organized by Uruguay and Mexico to find a negotiated solution to address the crisis in the Latin American country.

"We are here to find points of agreement and to articulate actions that will help the climate of serenity, communication and political agreement that Venezuela ... needs to resolve the serious institutional political, economic and social crisis it is in today," said Vazquez.

Envoys from 13 European and Latin American countries, and the European Union (EU) participated in the meeting, which was cohosted by Vazquez and Federica Mogherini, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.