Venezuela: Diplomacy with US on hold despite Obama

[Bacchus39]

in the "it really makes no difference category"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090127/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_venezuela_us;_ylt=Aso4tMt9uQV2MDRbosmcmru3IxIF

Venezuela: Diplomacy with US on hold despite Obama


– Venezuela is not yet ready to let the U.S. ambassador return to Caracas despite the change of administration in Washington, Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday.

Venezuela's relations with the U.S. have deteriorated in recent years as leftist President Hugo Chavez has crusaded against what he calls the U.S. "empire" and has hurled epithets such as "the devil" at former President George W. Bush.

In September, Chavez expelled U.S. Ambassador Patrick Duddy and recalled his envoy to Washington.

"Any step toward re-establishing the U.S. ambassador in Venezuela will probably take some time," Maduro said at a news conference.

But he added that Venezuela hopes to develop relations with the new U.S. government "in the best and most correct manner."

Chavez has expressed a desire for improved relations under President Barack Obama, whom he praised for ordering the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and banning torture.

But the socialist leader also bristled when Obama called him a "destructive force" in the region during a television interview. He accused Obama of meddling in Venezuela's Feb. 15 vote on term limits, and of following orders from the Pentagon.

Maduro said Venezuela would respect Obama's policies toward energy independence, which are aimed at slowing U.S. dependence on oil imported from countries such as Venezuela.

Venezuela is the fourth-largest supplier of oil to the U.S. — which imports an average 1.2 million barrels of Venezuelan oil and oil products per day, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Obama vowed on Monday to "seize the promise of energy independence," saying that "America will not be held hostage to dwindling resources, hostile regimes and a warming planet."

"We respect internal decisions," Maduro said.