"Venezuela and the US have not started to turn the page"

[Bacchus39]

http://english.eluniversal.com/2011/07/15/venezuela-and-the-us-have-not-started-to-turn-the-page.shtml

John Caulfield, the US Chargé d'Affaires in Venezuela, thinks that the work he will begin in Havana as head of the US mission in Cuba, "will not be more difficult" that his mission in Caracas. He concludes his work in Venezuela this week and he will be replaced on Monday by Kelly Keiderling as Deputy Chief of the US mission in Venezuela.

- Have you bid farewell to Foreign Minister (Nicolás) Maduro?

- The heads of the US mission normally ask for a courtesy visit to the Foreign Ministry when they complete their mission in a country in order to bid farewell. It is a diplomatic formality. As the diplomatic protocol requires, I have asked for an appointment, but I have not received any reply from the Foreign Ministry.

- Which is the status of the relationship between the two countries?

- It is not a secret that there is not an US ambassador to Venezuela or a (Venezuelan envoy) to Washington. We have not started to turn the page and move forward. The way to solve problems is through dialogue, but communication between the US Embassy and the Foreign Ministry has been minimal in recent months.

- Is the appointment of ambassadors still frozen?

- We have not had the opportunity to discuss this issue for at least six months. I think that it is necessary to move forward. In the absence of contacts, we are left in the same situation. I would like to clarify that I am not making a request. I am just describing the situation. Words are the weapons of diplomats. We do not carry guns, rifles or tanks. We try to solve problems through dialogue, but in the absence of effective communications we cannot move forward."