NICOLAS MADURO’S government backtracked on an order that gave U.S. Embassy personnel 72 hours to leave Venezuela, defusing tensions between the countries just hours after their top diplomats traded heated rhetoric at a special U.N. Security Council meeting to address the South American country’s crisis.

Maduro broke relations with the United States on Wednesday after the Trump administration recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president, a move the embattled socialist described as a “vile” coup attempt.

Maduro gave American diplomats three days to leave the country, but the Trump administration refused to obey his order, arguing that the leftist leader was no longer Venezuela’s legitimate president. That set the stage for a potentially violent showdown at the hilltop embassy compound Saturday night, when the deadline was to expire.

But as the sun set on Venezuela’s capital, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying the Maduro government had opened a 30-day window to negotiate with the Trump administration the establishment of a “U.S. interests office” in Venezuela, and a similar office for Venezuela in the United States. A similar arrangement governed bilateral relations between the U.S. and Cuba for decades before the Obama administration restored diplomatic relations with the country.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately confirm the Venezuelan Government’s account, reiterating only that its priority remains the safety of its personnel and that it has no plans to close the embassy.

Earlier in the day, Venezuela’s Foreign Affairs Minister faced off against U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at a special U.N. Security Council meeting on Venezuela’s situation.

During the debate — which was convened by the U.S. — Pompeo urged all nations to end Venezuela’s “nightmare” and support opposition leader Juan Guaido, while Russia accused the Trump administration of attempting “to engineer a coup d’etat” against Maduro — a reflection of the world’s deep divisions over the crisis in the South American country.

Venezuela’s political turmoil has further deepened amid growing tension over Maduro’s future as the country’s leader. Maduro started a second term Jan. 10 following a widely boycotted election last year.

On Jan. 23, Juan Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, declared himself the interim president.  (SD-Agencies)