Foreign minster says president Hugo Chávez wants diplomats to discuss possibility of restoring ambassadors in both countries

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

Venezuela's foreign minister, Elias Jaua, said Sunday that President Hugo Chávez has asked his diplomats to seek improved relations with the United States.

Chávez has had a rocky relationship with Washington for years, though the United States remains the top buyer of oil from Venezuela.

"We want to have a good relationship with the United States, but we are not desperate," said Jaua, speaking in an interview broadcast on the local Televen TV channel

The American embassy in Caracas has been without an ambassador since July 2010 when Chávez rejected the US nominee for ambassador, accusing him of making disrespectful remarks about Venezuela's government. That led Washington to revoke the visa of the Venezuelan ambassador.

Jaua said Chávez wants Venezuela's ambassador to the Organization of American States, Roy Chaderton, to talk with officials in Washington about the possibility of restoring ambassadors to embassies in both countries.

"It's an effort that President Chávez has asked us to continue making," Jaua said.

But Jaua noted that Venezuela is not in a hurry to have an American envoy in Caracas, saying: "We have learned to live without a US ambassador."

Since taking office in 1999, Chávez has regularly accused US officials of conspiring against his government and criticised Washington's foreign policy.

Chávez, a self-proclaimed revolutionary, has also forged strong ties with US adversaries including Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

US officials have for years questioned Chávez's democratic ideals and criticised Venezuela's efforts against drug trafficking as inadequate.

Chávez counters that democratic freedoms have increased under his 13-year rule and has accused US officials of manipulating the drug issue for political purposes to discredit his government.