Khaberni - American President Donald Trump said that Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado will arrive in Washington next week.
In an interview with "Fox News", Trump was asked whether he plans to meet with Machado following American strikes on Venezuela that resulted in the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro.
Trump answered, "Well, as far as I know, she is coming next week sometime, and I look forward to greeting her."
The White House did not respond immediately when contacted for further details about the meeting.
This will be the first meeting between Trump and Machado, who earlier this week mentioned she has not spoken to the American president since winning the Nobel Peace Prize in October.
The future of governance in the South American country remains in question. Trump recently dismissed the idea of working with Machado and said, "She lacks support or respect within the country."
Trump told "Fox News" that it will take time for Venezuela, currently led by acting president Delcy Rodriguez, to reach a state where it can conduct elections.
He added, "We have to rebuild the country. They cannot hold elections.. They don’t even know how to conduct elections at this time."
Yesterday, Thursday, Venezuela began releasing a "large number" of political prisoners, including foreigners, a step the White House considered a result of "pressure" exerted by President Trump following the overthrow of Nicolas Maduro.
This is the first indication that the interim Venezuelan government appears to be making concessions since the Trump administration announced that the United States would "manage" Venezuela after American forces arrested Maduro and transferred him to New York for trial.
The president of the Venezuelan parliament, Jorge Rodriguez, declared that "in order to promote peaceful coexistence, the Bolivarian government and state institutions have decided to release a large number of Venezuelan and foreign individuals," adding to journalists from the parliament headquarters that "these releases are proceeding."
He did not specify how many prisoners would be released.
