Trump to meet Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez for first time at U.N. meeting next week
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- President Trump will hold his first in-person meeting with Venezuela’s acting leader Delcy Rodríguez next week at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, months after a U.S. invasion ousted Nicolás Maduro.
- Their informal ‘pull-aside’ comes on the heels of a sweeping oil deal granting the United States a major stake in Venezuela’s vast reserves.
- Trump will also meet leaders from the U.K., Japan and gulf states during the U.N. gathering, as Washington struggles to wind down the Iran war.
WASHINGTON — President Trump will meet with Delcy Rodríguez, the acting president of Venezuela, for the first time next week since his administration carried out an operation to capture the nation’s former leader and effectively put Rodríguez in charge.
The gathering in New York City between the two leaders will be a “pull-aside” — diplomatic speak for a meeting that is more casual than a formal, bilateral sit-down — said Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Trump will be in town for the annual United Nations General Assembly.
Waltz also told reporters on a Friday call that Trump will meet with Andy Burnham, the United Kingdom’s new prime minister, and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who assumed office last October. The Trump-Burnham meeting will be their first since Burnham became prime minister in July.
Trump also will meet with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. The meeting comes as the U.S. has struggled to find an endgame to the Iran war after more than six months.
Rodríguez took over in Venezuela after a surprise U.S. military invasion in January that captured then-leader Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.
The meeting between Trump and Rodríguez, who had been Maduro’s vice president, comes after the two countries announced an agreement last month to give the United States a stake in Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. She described the deal as a step toward economic recovery that will modernize the country’s oil industry.
Senior administration officials said they couldn’t confirm whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would seek a meeting with Trump while in New York for the General Assembly, but suggested it was unlikely. The officials, who insisted on anonymity, said that Netanyahu’s time in New York would be limited: It comes during the Israeli electoral season, and the prime minister wasn’t expected to arrive there until after Trump leaves.
The officials also downplayed the notion that the Iran war would dominate discussions at the annual gathering of world leaders.
Kim writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
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