The United States said Monday it welcomes the comments by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez urging Colombian rebels to free hostages.
"Those are certainly good words. And we would encourage Venezuela to follow those good words with concrete actions," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
"The Venezuelan government should make every effort, public and private, to distance itself from any relationship it may have had with the FARC," McCormack said.
The FARC, or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, has been a long-term rebel group in Colombia. Colombia has accused Chavez of supporting the rebel group.
According to media reports, Chavez said during a TV show on Sunday that "the time has come for the FARC to release all the people it has up in the mountains unconditionally."
The FARC has been holding dozens of hostages in hopes to swap for its rebel members captured by the Colombian government.
Source:Xinhua
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