Senior US officials flew to Venezuela’s capital Caracas for rare talks with President Nicolas Maduro’s government. They aimed to discuss the possibility of lifting sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports amid a ban on Russian oil and gas imports.
It was not a formal meeting. Moreover, its details became known afterwards. US officials said they would ease the sanctions imposed in 2019 in exchange for Venezuelan oil supplies. Maduro supported this idea. The Venezuelan president signaled a willingness to increase his country’s oil production if Russian supplies were shut out in the international market. Nicolas Maduro described the meeting as "respectful, cordial and very diplomatic".
Insiders speculate that the US delegation promised to provide US and EU companies operating in Venezuela with licenses allowing greater flexibility in operations and access to Venezuelan oil and natural gas. Moreover, two unnamed sources reported that the US had demanded Venezuela supply at least a portion of oil exports to the United States as part of any agreement to ease sanctions. Venezuela started to cooperate with the US as its ties with Moscow weakened due to anti-Russian sanctions.
