Nicolas Maduro confirmed on Wednesday that “about ten days ago,” He spoke on the phone in a “friendly” manner. With his American counterpart, Donald Trump, in the midst of the crisis Tensions escalated between Caracas and Washington For the military deployment of the North American country in … Caribbean.
“About ten days ago, the White House called Miraflores Palace (the seat of the Venezuelan government) and had a phone conversation with President Donald Trump,” Maduro said.
In an event broadcast by the official channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), the Chavista leader He said the conversation took place “in a tone of respect.” It hopes that the contact represents a step “towards a respectful dialogue” between the two countries, without diplomatic relations since 2019.
Maduro said: “Welcome to dialogue, welcome to diplomacy.” He explained, when he recalled the period he spent as an advisor in the government of President Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013, that to this day he has not referred to the matter out of “caution” and because There are issues, in his opinion, that must remain silent “until they emerge.”.
The head of state insisted that the road between his country and… The United States must be a “nation of respect, diplomacy, and dialogue.”He expressed confidence that “everything will go well for peace, independence, dignity and future in Venezuela.”
On Sunday, while speaking to the press on Air Force One returning to the US capital, Trump was asked if he had spoken with Maduro, and he said: “The answer is yes.”
The president avoided going into details: “I don’t want to comment on it.”
According to what the New York Times newspaper said last Friday, based on anonymous sources familiar with the matter, the conversation between the two leaders was going to take place in the second half of November to agree on a possible meeting between the two leaders in the United States.
The report issued by the New York newspaper added that the call, which included US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, did not result in concrete plans for the meeting, and did not share more details about what was discussed between the two leaders.
Maduro has publicly expressed his readiness for dialogue with his American counterpart, which… He suggested doing “face to face”.
Tensions between Caracas and Washington have escalated in recent days, and Trump on Saturday warned pilots and airlines that they consider Venezuelan airspace and its surrounding areas “closed,” amid a communication crisis in the South American country.