Venezuela, U.S. Agree To Restore Diplomatic Ties

China View (Link) (June 25, 2009)

The governments of Venezuela and the United States agreed on Wednesday to restore their diplomatic ties, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said.

Maduro said that in coming days Venezuelan ambassador to the United States Bernardo Alvarez and U.S. ambassador to Venezuela Patrick Duddy will restart their diplomatic works in each other's countries.

The diplomatic ties between the two countries were affected when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sept. 11, 2008 expelled Duddy from the country.

Chavez ordered Duddy's expulsion to support Bolivian President Evo Morales' decision of expelling U.S. ambassador to Bolivia Philip Goldberg.

Chavez said that the expulsion was because the government of former U.S. president George W. Bush was behind all the complots against Venezuela.

Chavez began efforts to restore the diplomatic ties after the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama who attended the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad in April.

Maduro said that the ambassadors from both countries will take their charges again and he added that he had a phone conversation with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon.

Maduro said that Shannon expressed the U.S. government's wish to move ahead on a process of more communication between the two countries. †

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