MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Macron and Maduro bump into each other at COP27

Macron told Maduro he would be calling him for further talks

Presidents Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and Emmanuel Macron of France held a conversation on the sidelines of the COP27 Climate Summit at the Egyptian Red Sea por of Sharm l-Sheikh during which they agreed to work together toward mutual environmental goals.

“I will be delighted that we can talk longer, that we can undertake useful bilateral work for the region,” Macron told Maduro. ”President (...), I will call you,“ he added during the talk, which according to witnesses did not last longer than a minute and a half.

France is among the more than 50 countries that disowned Maduro's 2018 re-election, branded by the opposition as ”fraudulent“, and gave their backing to opposition leader Juan Guaidó as president-in-charge. But Guaidó's support has since dwindled, especially in Europe, and dialogue between France and Maduro's Venezuela was never cut.

Pushed by Washington's isolationist policies, Maduro has repeatedly turned to Russia, China, and Iran for international help.

But since the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Paris called on June 27 to ”diversify the sources of oil supply“ during the G7 summit in Germany. ”Venezuelan oil must also be able to return to the market,“ the French delegation said back then, to which Maduro responded that Venezuela was ”ready.“

”Excellent handshake with French President Emmanuel Macron, in the framework of COP27, which is undoubtedly a meeting point between governments and countries of the world. The doors of Venezuela are open to the French people,“ Maduro posted Monday on Twitter.

The 90 seconds were more than enough for Maduro to tell Macron that ”France must play a positive role” in the region, it was reported.