Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in İstanbul on Monday during an unannounced visit, officials said.
Erdoğan welcomed Rodríguez with an official ceremony at the Presidential Dolmabahçe Office before the two leaders held bilateral and delegation talks.
The meeting lasted about one hour.
No official statement on the outcome of the talks or any agreements had been released by Monday evening.
Cumhurbaşkanımız Sayın @RTErdogan'ın daveti üzerine ülkemize gelen Venezuela Geçici Devlet Başkanı Sayın Delcy Rodriguez’i İstanbul’da karşıladık. pic.twitter.com/Yy4tI3G27a
— Alparslan Bayraktar (@aBayraktar1) June 7, 2026
Turkey’s presidency said before the meeting that the leaders would discuss relations between the two countries, possible steps to deepen cooperation and regional and global developments.
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat and Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır attended the delegation talks.
Rodríguez, who has led Venezuela since US forces captured former President Nicolás Maduro in January, arrived in İstanbul late Sunday after a five-day visit to India.
Her arrival was announced by Bayraktar, who said she had come at Erdoğan’s invitation.
Turkey has maintained close ties with oil-rich Venezuela, and Erdoğan had strong relations with the governments of the late socialist leader Hugo Chávez and his successor, Maduro.
In recent years Turkey has signed agreements with Venezuela covering defense, energy, tourism and agriculture.
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, but years of corruption, underinvestment and mismanagement have led to a collapse in production.
The situation worsened after a US oil embargo in 2019, although Washington eased sanctions following Maduro’s capture. Rodríguez has since pursued reforms opening the oil industry to private capital.
With reporting by Agence France-Presse