Venezuelan president Maduro expresses willingness to hold dialogue with US

Caracas: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has expressed willingness to hold dialogue with the United States on the basis of mutual respect, provided that the United States gives up interference in Venezuela.

In a televised speech on Friday (local time), Maduro said that if the US side is willing to engage in dialogue with Venezuela on the basis of mutual respect and abandon its failed attempts to interfere in Venezuela over the past 25 years, he will welcome it and seek a path toward peace, cooperation and prosperity.

The president also criticised the United States for its sustained smear campaigns against the Venezuelan government, its destabilising efforts in Venezuela, and its attempts to overthrow the leadership, reports Xinhua news agency.

He called on the US media to report the real situation of Venezuela after truly understanding the country.

For months, the United States has deployed large-scale air and naval forces in Caribbean waters near Venezuela under the guise of combating so-called “narco-terrorism.”

It has sunk about 30 so-called “drug trafficking ships” in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, causing more than 100 deaths.

Earlier this week, the White House ordered the US military to focus almost exclusively on enforcing a “quarantine” of Venezuelan oil for at least the next two months.

“While military options still exist, the focus is to first use economic pressure by enforcing sanctions to reach the outcome the White House is looking,” a US official said.

“The efforts so far have put tremendous pressure on (Venezuelan President Nicolas) Maduro, and the belief is that by late January Venezuela will be facing an economic calamity unless it agrees to make significant concessions to the US,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Bella I, the third oil tanker pursued by US forces, has turned away from its route to Venezuela to load cargo and retreated into the Atlantic Ocean, according to US media reports.

US President Donald Trump ordered a “full and total blockade” of all sanctioned tankers entering or leaving Venezuela last week, announcing Maduro’s government as a US-designated foreign terrorist organisation.

Venezuela has repeatedly accused Washington of seeking regime change and military expansion in Latin America, condemning the interception of oil tankers as “piracy.”

Asked if the goal was to force Maduro from power, Trump told reporters on Monday that it would be “smart” for Maduro to step down. “If he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’s ever able to play tough,” he added.

The UN Security Council on Tuesday held an emergency meeting on the situation in Venezuela, at which the overwhelming majority of Security Council members called for respect for the UN Charter and restraint to avoid further escalation.

IANS