DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (AP) – Saudi Arabia has welcomed Venzuelan President Nicolas Maduro on an official visit.
Maduro arrived late on Sunday in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, where he was greeted by Saudi officials, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
It did not give a reason for the visit or elaborate on his schedule, but Saudi Arabia is hosting an international conference on combatting extremism later this week in the capital, Riyadh. The gathering will be co-chaired by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Maduro was re-elected in 2018 after judges banned his main opponents from competing, plunging the country into a severe political and economic crisis. Most opposition parties refused to recognise the election results.
Maduro’s rule by creating an interim government, a push for change that fizzled out over the past two years. Washington backed the opposition and imposed heavy sanctions on Maduro’s autocratic government, hoping that would spark change. But Maduro’s government dug in and resisted the sanctions with support from several countries.
