Venezuela on Monday canceled its meeting with the president of the Dominican Republic, which was intended to discuss the socialist nation’s severed diplomatic relations with Colombia.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said he had “suspended” his meeting with Dominican President Leonel Fernandez in Santo Domingo today due to “scheduling reasons.”
The meeting was to be the latest step in a series of attempts by a “group of friend countries” to mediate the resumption of diplomatic relations between Colombia and Venezuela.
The group was formed following a verbal clash between Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez at a summit in Mexico two weeks ago.
Maduro said Sunday that Venezuela will not repair ties with Colombia while Uribe is in power, but that Caracas hopes to normalize relations after the election of a new Colombian president.
Uribe on Monday condemned Maduro’s comments, saying Colombians should not feel pressured by “foreign governments” over their choice of president in the upcoming May elections.
Fernandez has already met with Colombian delegates in what he called a “positive first meeting.” The Caribbean leader said he was hopeful he could mediate a reconciliation between the sparring countries.
Caracas broke diplomatic relations with Bogota last year, after Uribe’s government signed a controversial pact with the U.S., granting the North American superpower access to seven military bases around Colombia.