Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (middle), accompanied by his wife Cilia Flores (left), arrives to the Federal Legislative Palace to deliver his annual report to the National Assembly in Caracas, on January 15, 2022. Maduro says he expects Venezuelan economy grew 4 percent in 2021, signaling an "economic recovery" in 2022. Photo: AFP

The US is easing some of its tough sanctions on Venezuela to encourage dialogue between President Nicolas Maduro's government and its opponents, a senior official said Tuesday.

"The United States is undertaking a number of measures at the request of the Venezuelan interim government and the Unity platform of opposition parties negotiating with the Venezuelan 'regime,' to support their decision to return to the negotiating table in Mexico City," the US official said.

One action permits US oil firm Chevron to negotiate with the state oil company PDVSA on the terms of any future activities in Venezuela, the official added.

Venezuela's Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez said on Twitter that the decision "has authorized American and European oil companies to negotiate and restart operations in Venezuela."

But she added that the South American country's ultimate goal is for this move to "begin the path toward the complete lifting of these illegal sanctions that affect our entire population."

After a political stalemate of three years that has seen economic and social conditions in Venezuela drastically deteriorate, Washington wants to encourage Maduro's government to negotiate with his opponents.

The US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the easing of sanctions was underway at the request of the Juan Guaido-led interim government and was directly tied to an agreement of both sides to return to talks.

"The United States supports a peaceful and negotiated outcome to the Venezuelan political and economic and humanitarian crisis," the official said.

The two Venezuelan sides met to discuss "future plans" in the wake of the announcement later Tuesday.

The heads of both delegations - Jorge Rodriguez representing Maduro and head of the opposition team Gerardo Blyde - both tweeted a photo of them shaking hands accompanied by the same message: "In a working meeting for future plans. To revive the spirit of Mexico."

AFP