Washington DC [US], February 1 (ANI): US President Donald Trump said that China is “welcome” to buy Venezuelan oil and claimed that India has already “made” a deal to purchase the oil.
Addressing reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said, “China is welcome to come in and make a great deal on oil. We’ve already made a deal. India is coming in, and they’re going to be buying Venezuelan oil as opposed to buying it from Iran. So, we’ve already made the concept of the deal.”
Repeating his remarks, Trump added, “We’ve already made a deal. India is coming in and they’re going to be buying Venezuelan oil as opposed to buying it from Iran. We’ve already made that deal, the concept of the deal. But China’s welcome to come in and buy oil.”
The Indian government has not yet responded to Trump’s comments.
Earlier, Trump said that Venezuela has offered Washington “50 million barrels of oil” worth USD 5.2 billion, and that he has agreed to the deal.
Addressing the press during the renaming of Southern Boulevard to Donald Trump Boulevard, Trump said, “We’re dealing with the new President. We’re dealing with a lot of the people who are running the country. They said, we have 50 million barrels of oil, and we have to get it processed immediately because we have no room. Will you take it? I said, we’ll take it. It’s equivalent to USD 5.2 billion.”
Trump further commended the “great relationship” with the Venezuelan interim government, formed after the US captured former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a military operation.
“We’ve had a great relationship with the people who are currently the Interim President and everybody else. A lot of pressure has been released,” he said.
After Maduro’s capture, Trump had made it clear that Washington would “run” Venezuela during a transition period and would need “total access to the oil and to other things in their country.”
Trump’s comments also confirm a recent report by New York-based news outlet Semafor that the US has made its first sale of Venezuelan oil valued at USD 500 million.
According to the Semafor report, revenue from the oil sales is currently being held in bank accounts controlled by the US government, as indicated in a recent order, according to an administration official. The main account, according to a second senior administration official, is located in Qatar. (ANI)
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