Turkey set to refine thousands of tons of Venezuelan gold as Maduro sends committee

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has sent a committee to the central Çorum province of Turkey seeking to refine thousands of tons of Venezuelan gold in the country in order to inspect gold refining facilities and conduct bilateral trade talks.

The committee will report to Maduro about the details of the deal, according to the Turkish Akşam newspaper.

Venezuela’s central bank in 2018 began refining gold in Turkey following a call issued by President Nicolas Maduro.

U.S. President Donald Trump had signed an executive order banning anyone in the United States from dealing with entities and people involved in "corrupt or deceptive" gold sales from Venezuela.

Maduro has repeatedly said that his country has the right to export gold and sanctions interfering with that are wrong, after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at curbing Venezuelan gold exports.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan in December criticized sanctions on Venezuela during his visit to Caracas.