WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th February, 2019) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has held a meeting with Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Program and discussed humanitarian situation in Venezuela and war-torn Yemen, Deputy Spokesperson for the State Department Robert Palladino said.
"Secretary Michael R. Pompeo met yesterday with UN World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley. The Secretary and the Executive Director emphasized the need for a political agreement that ends the conflict ... [in] Yemen, and also discussed ongoing U.S.-World Food Programme cooperation to relieve Yemen's dire humanitarian situation, especially increased food security needs," Palladino said in a statement, published on the official website of the department late on Saturday.
According to the statement, Pompeo and Beasley also addressed the situation in Venezuela, which has recently seen an escalation of its political crisis.
"The Secretary and Executive Director also discussed the situation in Venezuela and the difficult humanitarian circumstances forcing millions of Venezuelans to flee their country in search of basic necessities including food and medicine," Palladino added.
As Venezuela has been living in a state of a political and economic turmoil for years, millions of Venezuelans have been seeking refuge, mostly in neighboring Latin American countries. The political crisis escalated in January after the leader of the opposition-led Venezuelan National Authority, Juan Guaido, proclaimed himself the Venezuelan interim president.
On Friday, the first batch of humanitarian aid from the United States, which has backed Guaido's move, arrived at the Colombian-Venezuelan border, however, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has refused to accept the US aid, slamming it as a "fake show."
