Venezuela intends to restore full-scale diplomatic relations with the US. This is one of the first specific results of establishing personal relations between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and head of the US administration Barack Obama. They met for the first time at the Americas summit in Trinidad and Tobago.
Chavez said on Saturday that Caracas would like to see its former foreign minister and present representative of Venezuela at the Organisation of American States Roy Chaderton as its ambassador in Washington.
An agreement will be requested for Chaderton, and, as experts believe, under the present circumstances Washington will not object to the candidacy of a very experienced Venezuelan diplomat. An anonymous source of the US delegation, told reporters in Port of Spain on Saturday that the White House regards the intention displayed by Caracas to exchange ambassadors as “a positive move which will serve the interests of the United States, and the State Department will now work on achieving this common goal”.
Chavez announced Venezuela’s intention to send an ambassador to Washington after his conversation with US State Secretary Hillary Clinton. “We did not speak directly of ambassadors, but this question was in the air,” the Venezuelan leader said.
Venezuela and the US broke up diplomatic relations last September when Caracas had expelled US Ambassador Patrick Duddy out of solidarity with a similar decision by Bolivian President Evo Morales. In turn, the US extradited Venezuelan diplomatic representative Bernardo Alvarez.
Chavez expressed hope that the appointment of a new Venezuelan ambassador to the US would help to start “a new era in political and economic relations” with Washington. Obama “promised this, and we should believe him,” the Venezuelan leader said.
