CRI听力:Maduro Says Meeting with Obama to Bring "Relations of Respect" with U.S.

On the sidelines of the summit, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had a brief meeting with US President Barack Obama.

Maduro says his short encounter with Obama is an "opportunity could open up for relations of respect" between the two countries.

"It was a serious and sincere encounter. We told the truth and I would say it was cordial. As a result of this brief meeting with President Obama, maybe in the near future there could be a possibility to engage in a dialogue with the United States and explore a new path of relations of respect, that is fundamental."

The meeting is widely expected after Maduro called upon Obama to repeal an executive order on Venezuela issued by the White House last month, and led a petition drive against the order.
 
Bilateral relations between Venezuela and the U.S. soured when Obama declared Venezuela "an unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security.

In less than a month Maduro collected more than thirteen million signatures under a petition urging Obama to retract his declaration.