Nearly 70 percent of Chileans oppose ceding a sea exit to neighboring Bolivia, while 90 percent are in favor of resuming Chilean-Bolivian diplomatic ties, according to a survey published in the Chilean newspaper La Tercera on Sunday.

Any agreement with Bolivia has to be approved by a referendum in Chile, and 75 percent of the polled want a solution which does not involve ceding sovereignty, the survey showed.

It went on to say that 62 percent are directly opposed to accepting any compensation that Bolivia would give for a corridor of land leading to the Pacific Ocean.

The survey, which was conducted on Thursday and Friday and interviewed 427 people aged over 18 in eight main Chilean cities, have a 5-percent margin of error.

The relations between Chile and Bolivia have strained since the 1970s because of Bolivia's continued demand for a Pacific Ocean access that was lost in a war in 1879.

On Bolivia's Sea Day last week, Bolivian President Evo Morales called on the Organization of American States (OAS) to hold an extraordinary meeting on the issue. But the demand was firmly rejected by the Chilean government.

Source: Xinhua