The US State Department says it wants to "advance political reconciliation in Venezuela". -AP
The United States and interim authorities in Venezuela have agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, focusing on creating conditions for a peaceful transition to a democratically elected government.
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"This step will facilitate our joint efforts to promote stability, support economic recovery, and advance political reconciliation in Venezuela," the US State Department said in a statement on Thursday,
"Our engagement is focused on helping the Venezuelan people move forward through a phased process that creates the conditions for a peaceful transition to a democratically elected government."
After months of heightened tensions, the US captured Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro in January, setting off a chain of changes in the country, including the swearing-in of interim president Delcy Rodriguez.
The two countries have since gradually resumed bilateral relations.
Earlier on Thursday, US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said Venezuela's government is giving security assurances to mining companies interested in investing in the South American country, where mineral-rich areas have long been controlled by guerrilla members, gangs and other illegal groups that mine with consent — and to the benefit — of officials and the military.
Burgum told reporters at the end of a two-day trip to Venezuela that the government of acting president Delcy Rodríguez acknowledged concerns about the security risks.
The legal exploitation of mining in those unsafe, difficult-to-reach areas is part of the US government's phased plan to turn around the crisis-wrecked country.
