US, Venezuela discuss improving relations....was sagt uns das für unsere VEN-Bonds ?

Saturday, January 3, 2015

US, Venezuela discuss improving relations

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro (right) speaks with US Vice-President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony of Brazil''s reelected President Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia, on Thursday.

Vice-President Joe Biden holds brief meeting with Maduro at Rousseff’s swearing-in

CARACAS — Last year saw a rapid deterioration of relations between their countries, but on New Year’s Day, US Vice-President Joe Biden and Venezuelan President Nicolás shook hands and expressed their desire for restored ties.

The brief, impromptu meeting in Brazil came two weeks after US President Barack Obama signed legislation to impose sanctions on Venezuelan officials accused of violating human rights. Days before the sanctions were approved, Maduro had called on all Venezuelans to burn their US visas in protest of “imperialist Yankee” policies.

A photograph of Biden and Maduro smiling warmly at each other at the swearing in of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff became a meme yesterday, with Venezuelans inventing their own thought bubbles.

According to a US administration official travelling with the vice-president, Maduro told Biden he wants to improve US-Venezuela ties, but is concerned about the sanctions. The official insisted on not being quoted by name in discussing what was a private diplomatic conversation.

Biden said that one step Venezuela could take toward improving relations would be to release political prisoners, but Maduro responded that the opposition was destabilizing the country and sanctions would do the same, the official said.

Speaking to reporters afterward, Maduro described the meeting with Biden as “cordial.”

“What do we ask of the United States? I told Vice-President Biden, and have said it 1,000 times in public and in private, we want respectful relations, nothing more,” Maduro said.

The two countries have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010, and public encounters between high-level leaders are rare. Four years ago, the late president Hugo Chávez spoke with then-secretary of state Hilary Rodham Clinton in Brazil.

Venezuela is suffering as the price of oil plummets. The country derives 95 percent of its export earnings from oil. Earlier this week, Maduro accused the US of waging an “oil war” to destroy the country’s socialist revolution.

Approval rating slips

Maduro’s approval rating has slipped to 22 percent, the lowest of his nearly two-year rule as a result of economic problems, a local pollster said yesterday.

“His popularity has gone down a lot, he’s at 22 percent approval. People are waiting for solutions,” Datanalisis director José Antonio Gil told local TV station Globovision.

Recession-hit Venezuela has the worst economic performance of any major nation in the region, with widespread shortages of goods from milk to car parts, and 64 percent annual inflation.

The plunge in global oil prices, with Venezuela’s crude worth US$47 a barrel now compared to double that five months ago, has exacerbated the scenario.

Gil said 60 percent of people did not believe in Maduro’s argument.

“Venezuelans’ main problem is shortages,” he said, confirming what other polls have shown, that product scarcities have overtaken violent crime as Venezuelans’ main worry.

Opinion polls in Venezuela are divergent and controversial, but Datanalisis is one of the most closely watched and respected. Gil did not say when the latest figure came from or how many people were interviewed.

Datanalisis had put Maduro’s rating at 24.5 percent in November, and about 50 percent after his election in April 2013.

Herald with AP