Venezuela’s interim president Rodriguez meets with US envoy

Venezuela’s interim president Rodriguez meets with US envoy

The two nations gradually resume bilateral ties broken in 2019 after the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro.

Delcy Rodriguez
Delcy Rodriguez said her government aimed to pursue balanced and respectful international relations with the US. (EPA Images pic)
CARACAS:
Venezuela’s government and the US embassy said on Monday that interim President Delcy Rodriguez met with US envoy Laura Dogu, as the two countries gradually resume bilateral relations broken in 2019.

The government said in a statement that the meeting took place at the Miraflores presidential palace to discuss “the work agenda between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the United States.”

Foreign minister Yvan Gil added in comments on state television that the conversation covered the “common agenda” between the two countries, especially energy, trade, political and economic issues.

He added that Felix Plasencia, a prior foreign minister who also served as the country’s ambassador to China, will travel to Washington in the coming days to serve as Venezuela’s “diplomatic representative”.

Rodriguez’s brother, head of the National Assembly legislature Jorge Rodriguez, attended the meeting, the government said, as did Gil, with whom Dogu met over the weekend following her arrival in Caracas.

“The governments of Venezuela and the United States have set out to advance on a roadmap to address matters of bilateral interest, through diplomatic dialogue and on the basis of mutual respect and international law,” the statement added.

The US embassy in Venezuela said on social media that Dogu met with Venezuelan officials to “reiterate the three phases that US secretary of state Marco Rubio had outlined for Venezuela: stabilisation, economic recovery and reconciliation, and transition.”

After months of heightened tensions, the US captured Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro a month ago, setting off a chain of changes in the country, including the swearing in of Rodriguez, the passage of a reform to its flagship oil law and the release of some political prisoners.

Rodriguez has said she is seeking “balanced and respectful international relations” with the US, while Trump has said the relationship with the interim government is going well.

The two countries have reached a deal to export up to US$2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude to the United States, and on Friday Rodriguez announced a proposed “amnesty law” for hundreds of prisoners in the country, a move long demanded by the opposition and human rights groups.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.