2023-06-05 08:38:01
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia hosted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on an official visit, a new outreach to another US foe amid the oil kingdom’s hectic diplomatic activity.
Maduro arrived in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on Sunday night, where he was received by Saudi officials, according to the Saudi Press Agency, a state agency.
Although the reason for the visit or the details of his agenda were not disclosed, Saudi Arabia is holding an international conference on countering extremism in the capital, Riyadh, this week. The summit will be co-chaired by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Saudi Arabia has been a close US ally for decades, though relations have soured in recent years. The kingdom has in recent months reestablished its ties with the Iranian theocracy and with Syrian President Bashar Assad, two governments repudiated in the West.
The Saudis hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a close Western ally, at an Arab League summit last month. But a few days later they received a major Russian dignitary subject to Western sanctions.
The Saudi government says it defends its national interests in a world increasingly defined by superpower competition. Experts say the diplomatic frenzy is aimed at reinforcing regional stability and improving the image of the kingdom, which is seeking international investment for huge development projects.
Maduro was re-elected in 2018 after judges disbarred his main rivals, plunging the country into a serious political and economic crisis. Most opposition parties rejected the election results and challenged Maduro’s rule by creating an interim government, an attempt at change that has lost steam in the past two years.
Washington supported the opposition and imposed harsh sanctions on Maduro’s autocratic government, with the aim of encouraging change. but the Maduro government hunkered down and resisted the sanctions with the support of Russia, Turkey and Iran.
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