SANTO DOMINGO, Ramadan 09, 1437, June 14, 2016, SPA -- Venezuela and the United States will immediately start talks to ease tensions between the two countries and does not support its ouster from a regional diplomatic bloc, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday after meeting his counterpart from the OPEC nation, according to Reuters. Venezuela is embroiled in an economic and political crisis that has led to social unrest in one of the world's largest oil producers. The United States will send Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon, a veteran on Latin American diplomacy, as its representative to the talks, Kerry told reporters traveling with him after the bilateral meeting. Kerry said that the United States did not support efforts by the head of the Organization of the American States to suspend Venezuela from the regional diplomatic bloc. --SPA 23:25 LOCAL TIME 20:25 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w