Venezuelan leader expresses hope phone call marks beginning of ‘respectful dialogue’ between Washington and Caracas.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has confirmed speaking with United States President Donald Trump by phone late last month amid a US military buildup that has raised fears of war.
Speaking to state-run Venezolana de Television on Wednesday, Maduro said he decided to speak about his “cordial” call with Trump about 10 days ago because international media had reported certain information and he wished to avoid “microphone diplomacy”.
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“During my six years as foreign minister, I learned diplomatic prudence, and then, in these years as president, with the experience of being foreign minister and having been mentored by our Commander Chavez, I value prudence,” Maduro said, referring to the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, under whom he was foreign minister.
“I don’t like diplomacy with microphones; when there are important matters, they must be handled quietly until they are resolved!”
Maduro said he welcomed the possibility that the call was a step towards “respectful dialogue” and that his country would always seek peace.
Maduro added he would not speak further on his conversation with Trump as he favoured “prudence” and “respect”.
“With the favour of God and our Commander of Commanders, Our Lord Jesus Christ, everything will go well for the peace, independence, dignity, and future of Venezuela,” he said.
Maduro’s remarks came after Trump on Sunday said he had spoken with the Venezuelan leader by phone amid the most serious diplomatic crisis between Washington and Caracas in years.
Trump on Wednesday again addressed his call with Maduro without providing specific details of their conversation.
“I spoke to him briefly, just told him a couple of things, and we’ll see what happens with that,” Trump said during a news conference at the White House.
“Venezuela sends us drugs, but Venezuela sends us people that they shouldn’t be sending.”
Trump has deployed the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean, blown up alleged drug-smuggling vessels travelling from Venezuela and other Latin American countries, and threatened to carry out strikes on Venezuelan soil as part of an escalating pressure campaign against Maduro.
The Trump administration has cast its military campaign as an effort to combat drug trafficking.
Venezuela produces little of the global supply of cocaine, but served as a transit point for 10-13 percent of the estimated production in 2020, according to a US government estimate.
Maduro has accused Trump of using the anti-drug campaign as a pretext to topple his government and seize Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
In a defiant address to a rally in Caracas on Monday, Maduro said his country wished for peace, but only with “sovereignty, equality and freedom” attached.
“We do not want a slave’s peace, nor the peace of colonies! Colony, never! Slaves, never!” he said.