US Will 'Absolutely' Not Invite Maduro Government to Summit of Americas in June

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States will "absolutely" not invite the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to participate in Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles in June, US national coordinator of the summit Kevin O’Reilly said in a congressional hearing on Thursday.
Sputnik
"Absolutely not. We do not recognize them as a sovereign government," O’Reilly told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee when asked whether or not the United States had invited representatives of Maduro's government to the summit.
O’Reilly did not clarify whether the US government had invited representatives of self-proclaimed President Juan Guaido, pointing out that this is the responsibility of the White House to invite participants.
"We are in constant discussions with them about how to participate and engage in the summit," he said about Guido’s supporters.
O’Reilly also noted that the White House should make a decision on inviting the Cuban government. However, the United States had already invited members of Cuba's civil society, he said.
"We want to have a broad participation from civil society from every country, where authoritarians or dictators are seeking to snuff out public debate," O'Reilly added.
The Summit of the Americas will take place in Los Angeles on 6-10 June.
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