President Barack Obama met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during the Summit of Americas on Saturday.

Due to recent U.S.-based sanctions imposed on seven senior Venezuelan officials, the meeting between the two leaders had been highly anticipated as well as speculated over.

According to a White House official, who was not authorized to comment by name, the meeting between Obama and Maduro took place on the sidelines of the Summit of Americas, lasting only a few minutes.

Relations between the two countries have been strained since the Obama administration declared that the economic and political crisis in Venezuela was a national security threat for the U.S. and went so far as freeze the U.S. assets of seven officials accused of human rights abuses tied to opposition party protests that occurred last year in Venezuela.

"President Obama indicated our strong support for a peaceful dialogue between the parties within Venezuela," said Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the White House's National Security Council, according to The Associated Press. 

"He reiterated that our interest is not in threatening Venezuela, but in supporting democracy, stability and prosperity in Venezuela and the region."

Maduro described what turned out to be a 10-minute meeting as frank and cordial.

He noted in the coming days the brief exchange could lead the way to a meaningful dialogue, saying, "I told him we're not an enemy of the United States."

Elaborating on the honesty exchanged between the two men he said, "We told each other the truth."

Without mentioning Venezuela by name, Obama seemed to allude to his talk with Maduro, remarking during a speech at the summit that, "When we speak out on something like human rights, it's not because we think we are perfect, but it's because we think the ideal of not jailing people if they disagree with you is the right idea."