Maduro hails Venezuela-U.S. diplomatic talks

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Wednesday night described the diplomatic talks being held between Washington and Caracas as a "great achievement" to bring down political tensions and normalize bilateral ties.

"This diplomatic channel is a great achievement to have good relations with the U.S....," the head of state said in an interview to the Caracas-based Latin American news channel TeleSUR.

Noting that the diplomatic initiative was decided in April between U.S. President Barack Obama and himself, Maduro said the dialogue seeks to set apart areas of disagreement and share common interests including peace talks in Colombia and the reconstruction of Haiti.

The Venezuelan president said the two sides also discussed the size of each nation's embassies, their duties and cooperation in different areas.

Maduro stressed that he and his government will put forward efforts for the conversations to advance and yield good results.

The two countries have had tense political relations since late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999. Both countries have not had ambassadors at their respective diplomatic representations since 2010.

Tensions escalated after Obama signed in March an executive order that sanctioned Venezuelan officials associated with the crackdown on opposition protests in 2014 and declared Caracas a threat to Washington's national security.

One of Caracas' demands in the talks is for the legal and political repeal of the order.

"We want to normalize relations based on international treaties and rights as well as mutual respect," Maduro said.

Obama and Maduro spoke briefly at a summit in Panama in April, paving the way for talks between high-level officials of the two countries in recent weeks. Endi