[NYTr] The Empire Begins Talking the Talk of Civil Diplomacy w/Venezuela Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2007 16:34:45 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit [Well, well. Amazing how Venezuelan oil can grease the wheels of civil interchange with the Beast of el Norte, now that Bush is losing his wars, the economy is in tatters, and that the prospects for grabbing unrestrained access to mideast oil look dimmer all the time. And, it's almost the end of Bush's administration, so perhaps the full real diplomats who are left in the State Dept. may be trying to take advantage of a little breathing room to actually act diplomatic, for a change. -NY Transfer] excerpted from VIO Venezuela Daily News Roundup - Oct 3, 2007. [Venezuela's Foreign Minister met for the first time with a top US State Department official on Monday following the UN Summit in New York, where the two made headway on bilateral relations. According to the Associated Press, State Department official Tom Shannon requested the meeting and expressed interest in visiting Venezuela during what were "very cordial" talks with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro. Among the topics discussed was the Colombian hostage swap that President Chavez is currently negotiating. The AP notes, "Despite deep political differences, the U.S. government has generally sought a pragmatic relationship with Venezuela, which remains a major source of American crude oil imports." A Reuters article adds that diplomatic relations between the countries are expected to improve once Bush leaves office.-VIO] Reuters - Oct 2, 2007 http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN0238025420071002 Antagonists U.S., Venezuela hold rare diplomatic meet - CARACAS - Senior officials from antagonists Venezuela and the United States held a rare meeting on Monday and laid the groundwork for a possible visit by Washington's top diplomat for Latin America, Venezuela said. The OPEC nation is a major oil exporter to the United States but the two trading partners typically have little diplomatic contact and there had been no such high-level meetings for years. Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro had "very cordial," hour-long talks with Thomas Shannon, the U.S. diplomat in charge of relations with Latin America, at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, the foreign ministry said late on Monday. It was the first time the two men met and Shannon expressed interest in visiting Venezuela, the ministry said. President Hugo Chavez, who labels his counterpart George W. Bush the devil, bases much of his foreign policy on combating what he sees as U.S. imperialism. The countries bicker over everything from drug trafficking to arms deals to democracy. Last year, the nations' diplomats sought to organize a trip by Shannon but Chavez nixed the tentative plan, according to officials from both sides. But last month, the president, who calls Cuban leader Fidel Castro his mentor, publicly urged Bush to help him as he seeks to mediate the release of hostages, including three Americans, held by rebels in Colombia. That mediation was a main topic of discussion, Venezuela said. Political analysts and diplomats say there is potential for a thaw in the strained relations when Bush leaves office in 2009, especially if a Democrat wins the presidency. The countries often say they are willing to cooperate on areas of mutual interest but they also acknowledge they have deep, ideological differences. *** AP via CNN - Oct 2, 2007 http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/10/02/venezuela.us.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest Venezuela, U.S. diplomats hold 'cordial' talks The Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Top diplomats from Venezuela and the United States held rare talks aimed at improving relations, discussing a possible visit to Caracas by Washington's leading envoy for the Americas. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez constantly criticizes U.S. "imperialism" under President Bush. Relations between the two countries have been tense for years. The U.S. government accuses President Hugo Chavez of being a threat to stability in Latin America, and the Venezuelan leader constantly is criticizing U.S. "imperialism" under President Bush. But Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro and Thomas Shannon, the top U.S. diplomat for the Americas, held a "very cordial" meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Monday, Venezuela's foreign ministry said in a statement. Shannon said he was interested in visiting Venezuela, it said. Monday's private meeting was the first between Maduro and Shannon, who according to the statement also discussed efforts by Chavez to broker a deal for the release of rebel-held hostages in Colombia, including three Americans. Last month, Chavez made a rare overture to Bush, asking for support for his mediation efforts between Colombia's largest rebel group and the U.S.-backed government of President Alvaro Uribe. Despite deep political differences, the U.S. government has generally sought a pragmatic relationship with Venezuela, which remains a major source of American crude oil imports. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a September 25 interview with the New York Post's editorial board, said Washington is addressing the issue of Chavez's influence in Latin America by toning down the rhetoric and focusing on U.S. efforts to improve social conditions in the region. "The way that we've chosen to deal with this is to spend almost as little time as possible in talking about Chavez and more time talking about our positive agenda for Latin America," Rice said. "It's making a difference." *** AP via Washington Post - Oct 3, 2007 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/03/AR2007100300103.html Venezuela, US Talk, Ties Still Strained By Alexandra Olson The Associated Press UNITED NATIONS -- Venezuela and the United States are on speaking terms to seek the release of three American hostages in Colombia, but an imminent thawing in relations is unlikely because of differences over crucial issues such as Iran, the Venezuelan foreign minister said. In an interview with The Associated Press, Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday that he spent much of an hour-long meeting with Thomas Shannon, the top U.S. envoy for the Americas discussing the efforts of President Hugo Chavez to negotiate the release of the three U.S. defense contractors held captive by Colombian rebels since February 2003. Maduro said Shannon requested the meeting and urged Venezuela to push the FARC rebels for proof that the Americans were still alive. The two also discussed a possible visit by the U.S. diplomat to Venezuela. Monday's meeting on the sidelines of the U.S. General Assembly was a rare encounter between senior diplomats of two countries whose relations have been tense for years. The U.S. accuses Chavez of being a threat to stability in Latin America, and the Venezuelan leader is constantly criticizing U.S. "imperialism" under President Bush. Maduro described his first-ever talks with Shannon as "very positive" and said he believed the U.S. and Venezuela could "find common ground the issue of a humanitarian accord to get these citizens home." But he said there were deep-rooted divisions between the two governments, citing the nuclear dispute with Iran as a key source of friction. Venezuela has pursued close relations with Iran _ whose hardline president visited Chavez in Caracas last week _ and has defended the Islamic country against allegations that it is secretly seeking nuclear weapons. "There are many issues that drive us apart, including the idea of some members of the Bush administration to go after Iran," Maduro said. He claimed there was talk in the "corridors of the U.N." of U.S. plans for a "surprise attack against the peaceful country of Iran" by the end of the year. "That would be crazy, and the only thing that can stop it is a reaction by the American public, the people of the world and the governments of the world," Maduro said. Washington has said it is addressing the Iran situation diplomatically, rather than militarily, though U.S. officials also say that all options are open. The U.S. and five other countries trying to resolve the impasse agreed last week to delay consideration of more sanctions against Iran to give the country more time to answer questions about its nuclear program. A spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United Nations dismissed Maduro's claim. "The fact is that Bush has stated our goal of resolving the crisis with Iran diplomatically," Benjamin Chang said. "Frankly, I would not put much stock in any rumors that the Venezuelan foreign minister is trying to give credence to." Despite deep political differences, the U.S. government has generally sought a pragmatic relationship with Venezuela, which remains a major source of American crude oil imports. The State Department released a brief statement on the meeting between Shannon and Maduro, saying the two discussed the hostage situation and that the U.S. "remains committed to engaging positively with Venezuela." Despite the encounter, Maduro railed against the U.S. in a speech before the General Assembly earlier Tuesday. He lambasted the "death and destruction" in Iraq and warned the world not to allow a similar war with Iran. Chavez seized the world's attention last year by calling Bush "the devil" in a speech before the assembly. He skipped the meeting this year, instead focusing on his efforts to negotiate the release of the hostages in Colombia. Last week, Chavez made a rare overture to Bush, asking for support for his mediation efforts between Colombia's largest rebel group and the U.S.-backed government of President Alvaro Uribe. Maduro said Venezuela welcomed Uribe's proposal that a U.S. Congressional delegation accompany Chavez in his meeting with rebels. He said the meeting was likely to take place within the first two weeks of October but for security reasons, it had not yet been decided who would represent the rebels. [Associated Press Writer Christopher Toothaker contributed to this report from Caracas, Venezuela.] *** Bloomberg - Oct 2, 2007 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aijwuWxktxUk Venezuela Minister Meets Top U.S. Envoy to Americas By Matthew Walter Venezuela's foreign minister, a critic of U.S. foreign policy, held his first formal meeting yesterday with the top U.S. diplomat for the region and said the two may talk again. Minister Nicolas Maduro met Thomas Shannon, assistant U.S. secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, at the Venezuelan mission to the United Nations late yesterday for more than an hour, the Venezuelan ministry said in a statement. They discussed bilateral relations and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's efforts to secure the release of hostages kidnapped by rebels in neighboring Colombia, according to the statement. Maduro continued with his criticism of U.S. policy toward Iran and the war in Iraq during a speech today to the UN General Assembly. ``This war has brought death, destruction, destabilization and has created more centers for terrorism,'' Maduro said in comments broadcast by Venezuelan state television. He also said the U.S. has attempted to ``demonize'' Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who visited Chavez in Caracas last week to sign agreements to build factories in the South American country. U.S. President George W. Bush has pushed sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program. Heide Bronke, a spokeswoman for the State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, confirmed the meeting took place and that Shannon may visit Caracas sometime in the future. Chavez, who often refers to the U.S. as ``the empire,'' last month called on Bush to help facilitate the release of hostages in Colombia. * ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us Our main website: http://www.blythe.org List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr =================================================================