Trump, Venezuela's Rodriguez discuss debt restructuring, Rubio says

NEW YORK, Sept ‌23 (Reuters) - US ​President ​Donald Trump and Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez discussed the restructuring of the ‌South American nation's massive sovereign debt load, ⁠US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday.

The ‌pull-aside meeting at a ‌reception Trump hosted late on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly came during ​Rodriguez's first trip to the US since American forces captured then-President Nicolas Maduro in ⁠a January raid.

"There's a lot that needs to be fixed in ​order for Venezuela to be successful," Rubio told reporters. "Debt restructuring is key to that."

Rubio ​said Venezuela had "probably the ‌world's largest sovereign debt that has to be restructured" and said the United ⁠States wanted to help, but that "it has to be done in the right way."

The government and state ⁠oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela have about $60 billion of ​bonds that are in default, although analysts estimate that once accrued interest, other claims and arbitration awards are included, ‌total liabilities could top $150 billion.

Rubio described the meeting between Trump and Rodriguez ‌as short but important.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis in ⁠New York and Katharine ‌Jackson and Daphne ​Psaledakis in Washington; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by David Ljunggren and Kylie ‌Madry)

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