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Venezuela’s Maduro: ‘Mr. Donald Trump, here is my hand’

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, center, addresses Constitutional Assembly members during a special session at National Assembly building in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017, where images of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez, right, and the country's independence hero Simon Bolivar are featured. The new constitutional assembly has declared itself as the superior body to all other governmental institutions, including the opposition-controlled congress. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, center, addresses Constitutional Assembly members during a special session at National Assembly building in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017, where images of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez, right, and the country's independence hero Simon Bolivar are featured. The new constitutional assembly has declared itself as the superior body to all other governmental institutions, including the opposition-controlled congress. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

By Associated Press 3 min read

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro said he wants a meeting with President Donald Trump, the same man he ridicules as a crass imperial magnate, as the U.S. weighs slapping crippling economic sanctions on his socialist administration.

In a lengthy address Thursday to members of a new, all-powerful constitutional assembly, Maduro instructed Venezuela’s foreign minister to approach the United States about arranging a telephone conversation or meeting with Trump at next month’s United Nations General Assembly.

“Mr. Donald Trump, here is my hand,” the socialist president said, adding that he wants as strong a relationship with the U.S. as he has with Russia.

The remarks came a day after the Trump administration slapped sanctions on eight close allies, accusing them of violating human rights and democratic norms, and debated whether to pile on with additional economic sanctions to further isolate the government.

On Thursday, Trump said he discussed Venezuela along with North Korea and Afghanistan in a security briefing with top national security aides and Vice President Mike Pence, who travels to neighboring Colombia on Sunday in a trip where discussions on how to pressure Maduro is expected to feature prominently.