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U.S.,
Venezuela to Reinstate Expelled Ambassadors
Caracas - The
governments of Venezuela and the United States
agreed on Wednesday to reinstate their expelled
ambassadors, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas
Maduro said.
Maduro said that in coming days Venezuelan
ambassador to the United States Bernardo Alvarez and
U.S. ambassador to Venezuela Patrick Duddy will
restart their diplomatic work in each other's
countries.
"The two ambassadors will re-establish their
positions immediately -- our ambassador, Bernardo
Alvarez, in Washington and the U.S. ambassador,
Patrick Duddy, in Caracas," Maduro said.
Maduro said the ambassadors from both countries will
take their charges again. During his telephone
conversation with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State
Thomas Shannon, he said, the U.S. official expressed
the U.S. government's wish to increase communication
with Venezuela.
A U.S. spokesman said in Washington that the
timetable for the return is still uncertain, but a
top Venezuelan official said the swap would be soon.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told
reporters Wednesday that the U.S. administration and
the Venezuelan government have been "taking
necessary measures to accomplish this goal" of
returning ambassadors to each other's capitals.
Diplomatic ties between the two countries were tense
when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez expelled Duddy
from the country in September to support Bolivian
President Evo Morales' decision of expelling then
U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia Philip Goldberg. He was
accused of helping the opposition to incite violence
in Bolivia.
Chavez said that the expulsion was executed because
the government of former U.S. President George W.
Bush was behind all the dirty tricks against
Venezuela.
In retaliation, the Bush administration ordered the
expulsion of the Venezuelan ambassador in
Washington.
Since U.S. President Barrack Obama took office,
U.S.-Venezuela ties have shown signs of warming-up.
During the Fifth Summit of the Americans held in
Trinidad and Tobago this April, Obama said he had
seen "potential positive signs" in U.S. relations
with Venezuela.
At the summit, Chavez and Obama exchanged greetings
and shook hands with smiles on their faces. Chavez
also gave Obama a book as a gift and expressed his
willingness to be Obama's friend.
Chavez also met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton to discuss the possible restoration of
diplomatic ties and the issue of expelled
ambassadors.
The United States is Venezuela's most important
trading partner, representing about 22 percent of
imports and about 60 percent of Venezuelan exports.
Venezuela is one of the top four foreign oil
suppliers of the United States. |
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