Venezuela will re-establish diplomatic and commercial ties with Colombia, Colombian opposition party Polo Democratico announced after meeting with Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez.
According to the social democrats’ foreign policy committee, the Venezuelan Head of State told them of his intention to restore relations between the two countries to the state they were in before his objections to a U.S.-Colombian plan to allow the U.S. to conduct counternarcotics operations from Colombian soil and Colombian accusations that Venezuela had provided the FARC with rocket launchers.
The announcement comes as a big surprise as on Monday Venezuela’s Trade Minister announced that the country would cancel the contract to purchase 10 thousand Colombian cars and instead buy those cars from Argentina, and Chavez repeated that his country was ready for war when provoked.
According to Polo, Venezuela’s ambassador to Bogota, Gustavo Marquez, and a special commission appointed by the Venezuelan President will seek ways to completely re-establish ties.
Chavez also is willing to meet with his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe to personally clear the way for a friendly relation, Polo said.