Venezuelan president willing to normalize ties with US

By Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) - The Venezuelan president has said he is willing to work toward normalizing relations with the US, despite the continued sanctions crippling his country.

"Venezuela is ready, totally ready, to take steps towards a process of normalization of diplomatic, consular, and political relations with the current administration of the United States and with administrations to come," Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday in an interview broadcast on Venezuelan state television.

Maduro's remarks came after the South American country's opposition voted to dissolve an "interim government" led by Juan Guaido, who had been recognized by many countries, including the US.

Maduro cut off relations with Washington in 2019, when the administration of then-President Donald Trump recognized Guaido as Venezuela's "interim president."

The US launched a battery of sanctions against Venezuela, including an oil embargo, to force Maduro out of office.

"We are prepared for dialogue at the highest level, for relations of respect, and I wish a beam of light would come to the United States of America, they would turn the page and leave their extremist policy aside and come to more pragmatic policies with respect to Venezuela," he said.

On Friday, the Venezuelan opposition voted to dissolve the interim government led by Juan Guaido, who declared himself the interim president in 2019 to oust the reelected President Maduro and had the support of many Latin American and Western countries, especially the US.