Nicolas Maduro is trying to seize the opportunity of the benching of Russia to renew economic ties with the West. The Venezuelan president thus invited French companies to come to his country on Monday evening after France pleaded for a “diversification of supplies” in order to curb the soaring prices caused by the war in Ukraine.
“President Macron! Venezuela is ready to welcome all French companies that would like to come and produce oil and gas,” Nicolas Maduro told public television. On the sidelines of the G7 summit in Germany, the French presidency mentioned “resources elsewhere that must be explored”, eyeing the productions of Iran and Venezuela, and considering that “Venezuelan oil must be able to be returned to the market “.
The issue of sanctions against Iran and Venezuela
Tehran and Caracas are currently subject to US sanctions. The United States and Venezuela severed diplomatic ties in 2019 after Nicolas Maduro was re-elected in 2018 for a second term in a vote boycotted by the opposition. In a bid to oust the current president from power, Washington recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president, imposing a battery of sanctions on Caracas.
These measures include an embargo since April 2019 which prevents Venezuela from trading its crude oil – which then represented 96% of the country’s income – on the American market. Since then, Nicolas Maduro has received significant support from Russia to be able to continue exporting oil despite the punitive measures. In the American wake, France had also recognized Juan Guaido as interim president, triggering the ire of Nicolas Maduro. But the weight of the opposition leader has dropped considerably in recent months.