Venezuelan president Maduro expresses willingness to hold dialogue with U.S.

CARACAS, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Friday expressed willingness to hold dialogue with the United States on the basis of mutual respect, provided that the United States gives up interference in Venezuela.

In a televised speech, Maduro said that if the U.S. side is willing to engage in dialogue with Venezuela on the basis of mutual respect and abandon its failed attempts to interfere in Venezuela over the past 25 years, he will welcome it and seek a path toward peace, cooperation and prosperity.

The president also criticized the United States for its sustained smear campaigns against the Venezuelan government, its destabilizing efforts in Venezuela, and its attempts to overthrow the leadership.

He called on the U.S. media to report the real situation of Venezuela after truly understanding the country.

For months, the United States has deployed large-scale air and naval forces in Caribbean waters near Venezuela under the guise of combating so-called "narco-terrorism." It has sunk about 30 so-called "drug trafficking ships" in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, causing more than 100 deaths. ■