Relations between Mexico and Venezuela are recovering after a row arising from a dispute over the US-promoted Free Trade Agreement in the Americas (FTAA), Mexico's Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez told Mexican radio on Monday.

Derbez said the bilateral relations are going on the right track and things could soon return to normal.

"We have to manage this with prudence and firmness. We have to keep watching how this evolves and to look out for moments which will allow us to take the path toward normalization," he said.

However, he said a full normalization of their ties would need an apology from the Venezuelan government.

In Venezuela, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said in his weekly television and radio show on Sunday that he would "not add any more fuel to the fire" in his row with Mexican President Vicente Fox.

Fox backs the United States in its efforts to promote the FTAA at the summit of the Organization of American States earlier this month, to which Chavez strongly opposed.

Fox then made a speech which included thinly veiled criticism of Chavez, which incurred sharp words from the Venezuelan leader. The two countries recalled their ambassadors on Monday last week.

Noting the two countries had survived "impasses" before, Derbez said he hoped he and his Venezuelan counterpart Ali Rodriguez would soon get in touch.

Source: Xinhua