Colombia's Foreign Minister Fernando Araujo announced on Tuesday that the nation will not recall its ambassador from neighboring Venezuela for consultations, although Venezuela has done so to its Colombia representative.
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez recalled ambassador Pavel Rodon from Bogota on Tuesday because Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe suspended him from mediation with rebels the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). In a television broadcast on Sunday, Chavez said he had put Venezuela's relations with Colombia on ice.
"We are clear about what the Colombian government's interests are and the real enemy is the FARC which takes advantage of these types of spaces to create new ways of fighting. We will continue monitoring the situation in order to take the appropriate decisions," said Araujo.
Uribe barred Chavez because he had called General Mario Montoya, head of the Colombian army, to ask how many government soldiers were in FARC hands. Chavez responded by saying that Uribe was looking for excuses to end the peace process and said that Colombia "deserves a better president."
Colombia has said it is waiting for a clear definition of "on ice" and called for the international community to ignore Chavez's statements, accusing him of trying to set the continent aflame by attacking other nations.
Also on Tuesday, Colombian residents in Venezuelan capital Caracas rallied outside the Colombian consulate in eastern Caracas against Uribe's decision, made on Wednesday last week. The group called on all Colombia's political parties to sign an agreement backing the Humanitarian Accord, a proposal to swap FARC fighters held by the government for high-value hostages held by the rebels, which Chavez had begun helping to negotiate in August.
The demonstrators also called on Uribe to commit to protecting the life of Piedad Cordoba, a left-wing Colombian senator who had also been assisting negotiations, after Colombian government officials described her as having betrayed the nation.
Venezuela is home to around 600,000 Colombians, many of them refugees from the nation's 40-year-old internal conflict. Venezuela has legalized the bulk of these, giving them access to healthcare and education.
Source:Xinhua
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