Virtual Meeting Between Venezuela and the United States Ends

Venezuela insists that “dialogue must be limited to what was agreed in Qatar» and «the principles of self-determination, sovereignty and reciprocity must be respected”.

The Government of Venezuela confirmed on Wednesday that it ended the virtual meeting with the delegation of the United States Government (U.S.), where the South American country rejected the distortions that have been published by spokesmen of the US counterpart.

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“We warn that we will always respond with the truth,” said the representative of the Venezuelan government, Jorge Rodríguez, in a message released on social network X.

In this sense, the text insists that “dialogue must be limited to what was agreed in Qatar and that the principles of self-determination, sovereignty and reciprocity must be respected in order to continue regaining mutual trust and relations between governments”.

According to the Government of Venezuela, this first meeting culminates in two agreements: the willingness of both parties to “work together to gain confidence and improve relations”, and “maintain communications in a respectful and constructive manner”.

Last Monday, the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced the resumption of direct dialogues, at the request of the administration of the US president, Joe Biden.

“I have accepted, and next Wednesday talks are restarted with the United States Government to comply with the agreements signed in Qatar, and to restore the terms of the dialogue with respect, without manipulation, and also, to be public dialogues, without speculation”declared the head of state in his program “Con Maduro Plus”

Likewise, last April, the president of the National Assembly of Venezuela and chief negotiator of the Government, Jorge Rodríguez, unveiled the rounds of talks that the parties had in Qatar and Italy. For the Government of Venezuela, the objective of the dialogue is the lifting of sanctions

In the city of Doha, capital of Qatar, the first meetings took place on May 7, 2023 with the assistance of the special delegate of the US Central Security Agency, Juan González, the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Brian Nichols and other officials.

One of the agreements was to remove restrictions so that Venezuela could market its oil and gas, as well as to eliminate the blockade of the Central Bank. However, the US Government did not comply, as it did not issue the licence.

“We signed on October 17, 2023, and the U.S. did not issue the license on October 17. And here I make an incidence of what President Maduro said. We were in Barbados, ready to sign and the president asked if the US had issued the license, and we told him no. And Maduro said, sign the same because we have the word,” Rodriguez said.

Although the decision was questioned by some sectors, others considered it positive. The talks began a day before the start of the electoral campaign and less than a month before the presidential elections in Venezuela.