ISTANBUL

The United States and Venezuela’s interim authorities have agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, the US State Department said Thursday.

In a statement issued by the Office of the Spokesperson, the department said "the step will facilitate joint efforts to promote stability, support economic recovery and advance political reconciliation in Venezuela."

"Our engagement is focused on helping the Venezuelan people move forward through a phased process that creates the conditions for a peaceful transition to a democratically elected government," the statement said.

“The United States remains committed to supporting the Venezuelan people and working with partners across the region to advance stability and prosperity,” it added.

Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez saud Caracas was ready to address historical differences with Washington through diplomacy.

“We are going face to face to resolve our historical differences, and we are going to resolve them through diplomacy,” Rodriguez told state television channel VTV.

She referenced historical ties between the two countries, noting Venezuela’s independence leader Simon Bolivar wrote to US President James Monroe in 1818 about establishing relations based on “friendship and good understanding.”

Rodriguez added that the two sides would seek to establish a working agenda based on mutual respect and international law, expressing hope that relations could be rebuilt “with friendship and good understanding for the well-being of the Venezuelan people.”