A US delegation held weekend talks in Venezuela with the government of President Nicolas Maduro that included a discussion of energy supplies, the White House has said.
"As it relates to Venezuela, the purpose of the trip that was taken by administration officials was to discuss a range of issues including certainly energy, energy security," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday.
Maduro confirmed the meeting in a televised appearance late Monday, describing it as "respectful, cordial and diplomatic" without going into detail about the issues addressed.
"We did it in the presidential office," he said. "We had almost two hours talking."
"It seemed very important to me to be able, face to face, to discuss topics of maximum interest to Venezuela," he continued.
Venezuela's opposition also said it had met with the high-level US delegation, whose trip to Caracas – reported by multiple US media – came as Washington seeks to isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.