SOCHI: Russia and the United States voiced hope for better ties Tuesday as President Vladimir Putin welcomed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo but tensions were laid bare in a clash over election meddling.
In a late-night encounter in Putin's forested dacha in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Pompeo became the highest-ranking American to meet the Russian leader in 10 months.
"I would very much like your visit to Russia to benefit Russia-US relations and promote their development," Putin told Pompeo as he took a seat across from him in a sleek conference room, saying that they should "fully restore" relations.
Putin praised a two-year investigation by US special counsel Robert Mueller, despite its findings that Russia meddled extensively in the 2016 election on behalf of then-candidate Donald Trump, especially by manipulating social media.
But the probe found that his campaign did not collude with Russia -- lifting one cloud that has hung over Trump since his unexpected victory.
"Despite the exotic nature of Mr Mueller's commission, on the whole he conducted quite an objective investigation and confirmed the absence of any collusion between the US administration and Russia," Putin said.
Pompeo, speaking earlier at a joint news conference with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, acknowledged deep differences on election meddling -- and warned Russia to stay out of next year's vote.
"Interference in American elections is unacceptable. If Russia engaged in that in 2020, it would put our relationship in an even worse place than it has been," Pompeo said.
"I conveyed that there are things that Russia can do to demonstrate that these kinds of activities are a thing of the past. I hope that Russia takes advantage of those opportunities," he said.
Lavrov hit back against "those who are inflating this topic" and saying of collusion: "It's clear that such insinuations are absolute fiction."
"We want and we are ready to deal with cybersecurity issues along with our American partners, without any politicisation," he said.
Pompeo nonetheless also voiced hope for a better future with Russia.
He said that his mission came from Trump, who has persistently praised Putin -- a loathed figure for virtually all of the US political class.
Trump, he said, wants the United States and Russia "to do everything we can" to create a future that is "more successful" for both countries and the world as a whole.
"Some of our cooperation has been excellent -- on North Korea, on Afghanistan, we've done good work -- (and) counter-terrorism work -- together. These are things we can build upon," Pompeo said.
Pompeo was the highest-ranking American to see Putin since July when the Russian leader met in Helsinki with Trump -- who shocked the US establishment by seeming to take at face value Putin's denials of election interference.
Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov said the president and Pompeo discussed Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and the situation in North Korea, following leader Kim Jong Un's first visit to Russia last month.
However in the 90 minutes of closed-door talks they did not touch on the Ukraine crisis and only briefly discussed sanctions imposed by Washington over Russia's backing of separatist rebels in the country.
They equally did not touch on Michael Calvey, a prominent American investor who has been behind bars in Moscow since mid-February on controversial fraud charges, Ushakov said.
Lavrov and Pompeo urge closer US-Russia ties, still disagree over Iran nuclear deal
Lavrov and Pompeo urge closer US-Russia ties, still disagree over Iran nuclear deal
Venezuelans await political prisoners’ release after government vow
- Rights groups estimate there are 800 to 1,200 political prisoners held in Venezuela
CARACAS: Venezuelans waited Sunday for more political prisoners to be freed as ousted president Nicolas Maduro defiantly claimed from his US jail cell that he was “doing well” after being seized by US forces a week ago.
The government of interim president Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday began to release prisoners jailed under Maduro in a gesture of openness, after pledging to cooperate with Washington over its demands for Venezuelan oil.
The government said a “large” number would be released — but rights groups and the opposition say only about 20 have walked free since, including several prominent opposition figures.
Rights groups estimate there are 800 to 1,200 political prisoners held in Venezuela.
Rodriguez, vice president under Maduro, said Venezuela would take “the diplomatic route” with Washington, after Trump claimed the United States was “in charge” of the South American country.
“Venezuela has started the process, in a BIG WAY, of releasing their political prisoners. Thank you!” Trump said in a post late Saturday on his Truth Social platform.
“I hope those prisoners will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done.”
Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured in a dramatic January 3 raid and taken to New York to stand trial on drug-trafficking and weapons charges, to which they pleaded not guilty.
Anxiety over prisoners
A detained police officer accused of “treason” against Venezuela died in state custody after a stroke and heart attack, the state prosecution service confirmed on Sunday.
Opposition groups said the man, Edison Jose Torres Fernandez, 52, had shared messages critical of Maduro’s government.
“We directly hold the regime of Delcy Rodriguez responsible for this death,” Justice First, part of the Venezuelan opposition alliance, said on X.
Families on Saturday night held candlelight vigils outside El Rodeo prison east of Caracas and El Helicoide, a notorious jail run by the intelligence services, holding signs with the names of their imprisoned relatives.
Prisoners include Freddy Superlano, a close ally of opposition figurehead Maria Corina Machado. He was jailed after challenging Maduro’s widely contested re-election in 2024.
“He is alive — that was what I was most afraid about,” Superlano’s wife Aurora Silva told reporters.
“He is standing strong and I am sure he is going to come out soon.”
Maduro meanwhile claimed he was “doing well” in jail in New York, his son Nicolas Maduro Guerra said in a video released Saturday by his party.
The ex-leader’s supporters rallied in Caracas on Saturday but the demonstrations were far smaller than Maduro’s camp had mustered in the past, and top figures from his government were notably absent.
The caretaker president has moved to placate the powerful pro-Maduro base by insisting Venezuela is not “subordinate” to Washington.
Pressure on Cuba
Vowing to secure US access to Venezuela’s vast crude reserves, Trump pressed top oil executives at a White House meeting on Friday to invest in Venezuela, but was met with a cautious reception.
Experts say Venezuela’s oil infrastructure is creaky after years of mismanagement and sanctions.
Washington has also confirmed that US envoys visited Caracas on Friday to discuss reopening their embassy there.
Trump on Sunday pressured Caracas’s leftist ally Cuba, which has survived in recent years under a US embargo thanks to cheap Venezuelan oil imports.
He urged Cuba to “make a deal” or face unspecified consequences, warning that the flow of Venezuelan oil and money to Havana would stop now that Maduro was gone.
Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel retorted on X that the Caribbean island was “ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood.”
“No one tells us what to do.”
Venezuela’s government in a statement called for “political and diplomatic dialogue” between Washington and Havana.
“International relations should be governed by the principals of international law — non-interference, sovereign equality of states and the right of peoples to govern themselves.”
