By IANS,
Caracas : President Hugo Chavez has said that Venezuela and the US can revive their broken friendship if President Barack Obama “opens his fist”, EFE reported.
In his column “The Lines of Chavez” published Sunday, Chavez noted that Obama in his inaugural address expressed his willingness to “extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist”, a statement directed at world leaders.
“The one who really should open up its fists is precisely the government of the US. Then, from all over the world would come extended hands, full of fraternity. Among them, without doubt, of this revolutionary soldier,” Chavez said.
Chavez had suggested that his change of opinion was due to a letter he received from Fidel Castro in which the Cuban leader had favourable words to say about Obama.
Venezuela and the US suspended their bilateral relations in September last year after Caracas expelled US envoy Patrick Duddy in “solidarity” with a similar action taken by Bolivian President Evo Morales.
The US in turn expelled Venezuelan ambassador Bernardo Alvarez.