Shannon: US is not trying to isolate Venezuela
"We are not making attempts to isolate Venezuela. That is impossible
for the United States, given the energy and historic ties" between
the two countries, said the US Assistant Secretary of State
for Western Hemisphere Affairs Tom Shannon in an interview with
El País published Friday, AFP reported.
"The showdown between Washington and Caracas is a Caracas thing.
We are willing to talk to Venezuela, but the government of Venezuela
has made this strategic decision not to talk," Shannon told
the Spanish daily newspaper in Brussels, the second stop in
his European tour, which he started Monday in Madrid.
The situation facing Cuba, the sale of Spanish military aircrafts
to Venezuela -an operation Washington vetoed based on the fact
that such planes comprise US parts- and the new political outlook
in Bolivia were some of the topics Shannon addressed together
with senior Spanish diplomats and officials. He also met with
former president of the Spanish government Felipe González.
"Anti-Americanism is the central message of Chávez," Shannon
asserted.
"We are concerned about Venezuela not because of popular political
expressions, but because of the health conditions facing Venezuelan
democratic institutions," Shannon added in an interview almost
entirely devoted to Venezuela.
"We are interested in keeping relations with Venezuela. (But)
Venezuela has isolated from US," the diplomat stressed.
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