https://sputnikglobe.com/20220307/us-officials-reportedly-make-scant-progress-gauging-venezuela-as-alternative-oil-supply-1093661446.html
US Officials Reportedly Make Scant Progress Gauging Venezuela as Alternative Oil Supply
US Officials Reportedly Make Scant Progress Gauging Venezuela as Alternative Oil Supply
Sputnik International
Venezuela last week rejected the US and European position on the Russian military operation to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine, with President Nicolás... 07.03.2022, Sputnik International
2022-03-07T13:45+0000
2022-03-07T13:45+0000
2022-10-19T20:55+0000
venezuela
us sanctions on venezuela
russia
nicolás maduro
pdvsa
antony blinken
ukraine
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A high-level US delegation met with top government officials in Caracas, Venezuela, on Saturday, for the first such high-level bilateral talks in years, reported Reuters. The delegation, that comprised Juan González, the top White House official on Latin America, the US Ambassador to Venezuela, James Story, and Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, had met at the Miraflores palace with President Nicolás Maduro and his Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez, according to sources cited by the outlet. The US group purportedly made the case to the Venezuela government for the release of American citizens and dual nationals held there, including six oil executives from Houston-based CITGO, a subsidiary of PDVSA, who had been detained on corruption charges.However, the delegation is said to have been tasked with gauging the chances of Venezuela, one of Russia's closest Latin American allies, being prepared to distance itself from Moscow due to the ongoing Ukraine crisis.Russia launched an operation to demilitarise and de-Nazify the neighbouring country on 24 February after the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, officially recognised by Moscow earlier, requested assistance in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. With the Kremlin slapped by Washington, the EU and a plethora of allies with sweeping sanctions over what they branded “an invasion”, involving airspace closures, restrictive measures targeting Russian officials, media and financial institutions, the US is supposedly searching for alternative oil supplies in the event of a boycott of Moscow's energy industry. However, scant progress was reportedly made, as sources claimed that both sides presented "maximalist" demands. Washington is described as having angled for guarantees of free presidential elections in Venezuela, broad reforms of the country’s oil industry and the government's public condemnation of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. In return, the US side was ready to offer a spate of concessions, such as temporarily allowing Venezuela to use the SWIFT system, sources were cited as saying. However, Maduro purportedly demanded a total lifting of sanctions targeting Venezuela's oil exports, as well as the restrictions slapped by Washington on him, personally, as well as other Venezuelan officials, and the return to the state's control of PDVSA's US subsidiary Citgo Petroleum. US officials are believed to have agreed to a follow-up meeting.The White House, the US State Department and Venezuela's Information ministry have not offered any confirmation or comment on the reported meeting. However, at a time when there are no commercial flights from the US to Venezuela, data from flight-tracking website ADS-B Exchange showed a Gulfstream jet leaving a Washington airport and flying to Caracas via Miami on Saturday. Washington and Caracas have had no formal diplomatic relations since January 2019, when the US attempted to overthrow the government of President Nicolás Maduro and slapped crushing sanctions on the Latin American nation.‘Not Seduced by Lies’ Last week, Venezuela rejected the US and European stance on the Russian military operation in Ukraine, redirecting the blame for the crisis on Washington and NATO. The report comes as Western sanctions have been driving fuel prices through the roof. Oil surged 10% on Sunday, topping $110 per barrel of WTI crude, and $115 a barrel for Brent crude. This came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Joe Biden’s administration was in “very active discussions” with European partners to ban imports of Russian oil. Venezuela, boasting the world’s largest oil reserves, used to be a major exporter until its production collapsed from an estimated three million barrels per day to less than a million amid the tough sanctions regime and mismanagement.
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venezuela, us sanctions on venezuela, nicolás maduro, pdvsa, antony blinken, ukraine
US Officials Reportedly Make Scant Progress Gauging Venezuela as Alternative Oil Supply
13:45 GMT 07.03.2022 (Updated: 20:55 GMT 19.10.2022) Venezuela last week rejected the US and European position on the Russian military operation to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine, with President Nicolás Maduro blaming Washington and NATO for the crisis and stressing that his country was “not seduced by lies repeated a thousand times”.
A high-level US delegation met with top government officials in Caracas,
Venezuela, on Saturday, for the first such high-level bilateral talks in years, reported Reuters.
The delegation, that comprised Juan González, the top White House official on Latin America, the US Ambassador to Venezuela, James Story, and Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, had met at the Miraflores palace with President Nicolás Maduro and his Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez, according to sources cited by the outlet.
The US group purportedly made the case to the Venezuela government for the release of American citizens and dual nationals held there, including six oil executives from Houston-based CITGO, a subsidiary of PDVSA, who had been
detained on corruption charges.
However, the delegation is said to have been tasked with gauging the chances of Venezuela, one of Russia's closest Latin American allies, being prepared to distance itself from Moscow due to the ongoing Ukraine crisis.
Russia launched
an operation to demilitarise and de-Nazify the neighbouring country on 24 February after the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, officially recognised by Moscow earlier, requested assistance in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces.
With the Kremlin slapped by Washington, the EU and a plethora of allies with
sweeping sanctions over what they branded “an invasion”, involving airspace closures, restrictive measures targeting Russian officials, media and financial institutions, the US is supposedly searching for alternative oil supplies in the event of a boycott of Moscow's energy industry.
However, scant progress was reportedly made, as sources claimed that both sides presented "maximalist" demands. Washington is described as having angled for guarantees of free presidential elections in Venezuela, broad reforms of the country’s oil industry and the government's public condemnation of Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
In return, the US side was ready to offer a spate of concessions, such as temporarily allowing Venezuela to use the SWIFT system, sources were cited as saying. However, Maduro purportedly demanded a total lifting of sanctions targeting Venezuela's oil exports, as well as the restrictions slapped by Washington on him, personally, as well as other Venezuelan officials, and the return to the state's control of PDVSA's US subsidiary Citgo Petroleum. US officials are believed to have agreed to a follow-up meeting.
The White House, the US State Department and Venezuela's Information ministry have not offered any confirmation or comment on the reported meeting. However, at a time when there are no commercial flights from the US to Venezuela,
data from flight-tracking website ADS-B Exchange showed a Gulfstream jet leaving a Washington airport and flying to Caracas via Miami on Saturday.
Washington and Caracas have had no formal diplomatic relations since January 2019, when the US attempted to overthrow the government of President Nicolás Maduro and slapped crushing sanctions on the Latin American nation.
Last week, Venezuela
rejected the US and European stance on the Russian military operation in Ukraine, redirecting the blame for the crisis on Washington and NATO.
“We are repeated a thousand times. We know that [Vladimir] Putin is defending the Russian people’s right to peace and dignity,” Maduro said in an address last week.
The report comes as Western sanctions have been driving fuel prices through the roof. Oil surged 10% on Sunday, topping $110 per barrel of WTI crude, and $115 a barrel for Brent crude.
This came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Joe Biden’s administration was in “very active discussions” with European partners to ban imports of Russian oil.
“We are now talking to our European partners and allies to look in a coordinated way at the prospect of banning the import of Russian oil, while making sure that there is still an appropriate supply of oil on world markets,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Venezuela, boasting the world’s largest oil reserves, used to be a major exporter until its production collapsed from an estimated three million barrels per day to less than a million amid the tough sanctions regime and mismanagement.
