Venezuela, US move to restore envoys

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-26 07:54

MARACAY, Venezuela: Venezuela and the United States said on Wednesday they will restore their ambassadors more than nine months after President Hugo Chavez expelled the US envoy in his final diplomatic bout with the Bush administration.

But Chavez signaled he still has major differences with Washington, accusing the US of having a hand in recent protests in Iran and saying he hopes President Barack Obama will lead the United States on a new path.

"I hope that Obama takes charge of dismantling the empire, that the United States starts to respect the world," Chavez told reporters.

US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in Washington that the time frame for restoring the ambassadors remained unclear, but a top Venezuelan official said the exchange would happen soon.

Chavez - a fierce opponent of US policy who once likened President George W. Bush to the devil - has expressed hope for improved relations with Washington following years of tensions with the Bush administration. Obama says his government wants to improve ties with all nations in the Americas.

Chavez's foreign minister, Nicolas Maduro, said the governments have agreed to overturn the "persona non grata" status given each other's ambassadors in September, when Chavez expelled US Ambassador Patrick Duddy and recalled his envoy to Washington.

Chavez said at the time that he kicked out the ambassador to show solidarity with Bolivia after Bolivian President Evo Morales ordered out the top US diplomat in his country, accusing him of helping the opposition incite violence. Washington denied the allegation and reacted by expelling the envoys of both Venezuela and Bolivia.

Maduro said that he had spoken with Thomas Shannon, the top US diplomat for the Americas, and that they "effectively reached an agreement on the proposal" to restore ambassadors as part of an effort to improve relations.

(China Daily 06/26/2009 page11)