Venezuela leader rejects cordial relations with US

President Nicolas Maduro said that Venezuela will not have cordial relations with the United States as long as US diplomats continue what he alleges are attempts to destabilise his country.
He said yesterday "new points of contact" can be established, but only if Washington ends such activity.
Maduro's tough talk came a day after he announced the expulsion of the top US diplomat in Venezuela, Charge d'Affaires Kelly Keiderling, and two other embassy officials, alleging they conspired with "the extreme right" to sabotage the economy and power grid.
The United States again on Tuesday rejected the allegations that it is trying to destabilise this South American nation.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Venezuela's government delivered a diplomatic note to the US Embassy in Caracas on Monday night that said it had declared the US charge d'affaires, the political officer and the consular officer personas non grata. She said the three were given 48 hours to leave Venezuela.
Psaki said the US might take reciprocal action in accordance with the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations and on consular relations but was still considering what action to take.

She said the allegations were related to the US Embassy workers' travel to Bolivar state, which is home to troubled state-owned foundries and Venezuela's main hydroelectric plant.

"They were there conducting normal diplomatic engagement, as we've said in the past and should come as no surprise," Psaki said.
"We, of course, maintain regular contacts across the Venezuelan political spectrum. And we maintain a broad perspective on Venezuela and travel frequently, of course.
That's what diplomats do. So there was nothing out of the ordinary about that. And that was part of their accusations," she said.
Expelled with Keiderling, the top embassy official in the absence of an ambassador, were consular officer David Moo and Elizabeth Hoffman, who works in the embassy's political section.
Speaking from the government palace, Maduro said that "while the government of the United States does not understand that it has to respect our country's sovereignty there will be simply be no cordial relations nor cordial communication."

"The day that the government of President (Barack) Obama rectifies the situation we will establish new points of contact to discuss common issues," said Maduro, the hand-picked successor to late President Hugo Chavez.