Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Thursday denied the government of his country is considering to leave the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).
After he discarded rumors of Colombia’s departure from Unasur, Uribe said international organizations are good scenarios for the discussion of national topics as far as the debates are conducted with complete sincerity.
After a meeting of South American Foreign and Defense Minister in Ecuador earlier this week, both the Colombian Defense as Foreign Minister had implied Colombia could leave UNASUR if its interests wouldn’t be served by the union.
Colombia’s decision to allow the U.S. military access to Colombian military bases is criticized by fellow members states of the union.
The Colombian head of State called on patience when dealing with international organizations like UNASUR.
“You have to have a lot of patience … Colombia is a country of domestic and international institutions and the fact that there are discussions in these institutions, in which Colombia presents its points of view, to me seems a good thing,” Uribe said.
The President said that Colombia’s military expenses seek national security and not a military confrontation with its neighbors as there are discussions in Latin America and the U.S. about the increase of spending on military and a possible unfolding arms race on the continent.