President Donald Trump declined in a recent interview to rule out meeting with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, expressing openness to a presidential visit that would upend his administration’s hard-line policy toward the dictator.

Axios reported Sunday that when a reporter asked Trump if he would meet with Maduro, the president replied: “I would maybe think about that. ... Maduro would like to meet. And I’m never opposed to meetings — you know, rarely opposed to meetings”.

Trump’s comments — including ambivalence toward his 2019 decision to recognize National Assembly head Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president — came days after release of former security advisor John Bolton’s book describing Trump’s public toughness toward Maduro as an attempt to win Republican votes in South Florida.