Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that he would propose alternatives to a free trade pact between Argentina and the United States, a necessary step for the creation a US-backed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

He would make such a proposal to Argentine President Nestor Kirchner when they meet Monday in the city of Puerto Ordaz, 700 km southeast of the Venezuelan capital Caracas, Chavez said at a four-hour weekly TV and radio show.

Chavez said his talks with Kirchner would cover Venezuela's bid for full membership in the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), where Venezuela is currently an associate member.

Earlier this month, the members of Mercosur -- Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay -- openly criticized the FTAA proposal at the summit of the Organization of American States.

"Mercosur or the FTAA? ... our destiny is Mercosur and that is anti-FTAA," Chavez said.

The FTAA proposal enjoys support from some Latin American countries like Mexico and Colombia. Mexico's support for the US initiative has led to a feud between Chavez and his Mexican counterpart, Vicente Fox.

When Fox criticized anti-FTAA leaders in a general, veiled way, Chavez called him a "lapdog" of the United States, which triggered an escalating war of words between them and the recall of ambassadors last Tuesday.

In Sunday's broadcast Chavez said he didn't want to "put... more fuel on the fire," but he would continue to urge his Latin American peers to unite rather than sign deals with the United States.

Chavez has been using the nation's oil wealth to promote what he calls a "Bolivarian alternative" based on regional solidarity. Among his initiatives is the offer of cheap fuel to Caribbean island states and Venezuela's neighbors.

Venezuela also recently bought an Argentine bond worth 950 million US dollars, a move Chavez said was the first step toward creating a Bank of the South and a proof of his financial support for projects in the region.

Source: Xinhua