CARACAS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. and Venezuelan officials discussed the possibility of easing oil sanctions on Venezuela but made scant progress toward a deal in their first high-level bilateral talks in years, five sources familiar with the matter said, as Washington seeks to separate Russia from one of its key allies.
Both sides used Saturday’s meeting in Caracas to present what one of the sources described as “maximalist” demands, reflecting longtime tensions between the Western Hemisphere’s main power and one of its biggest ideological foes.
A U.S. delegation led by Juan Gonzalez – the top White House Latin America adviser – and Ambassador James Story held talks at the Miraflores palace with socialist President Nicolas Maduro and his Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez, the sources said.
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston, Vivian Sequera in Caracas, Matt Spetalnik and Brian Ellsworth in Washington and Diego Ore in Mexico City; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Stephen Coates)
