Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro agreed on Monday to put an end to tensions that surged after a visit to Bogota by Venezuela’s opposition leader.
The two presidents announced they had overcome the tensions after a two-hour meeting in Puerto Ayacucho, a town on the Venezuelan side of the border separating the two countries.
“It’s a restart of our relations,” said Santos, who had been trying to prevent tensions from escalating ever since the visit of Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles to his presidential palace caused a flow of Venezuelan accusations about alleged Colombian involvement in a plot to overthrow Caracas.
According to Colombia’s president, he and his Venezuelan counterpart “do not agree; we have different visions.” However, Santos and Maduro decided to “work together, for the well-being of the Colombian and Venezuelan people.”
According to Santos, the foreign ministers of both countries will meet on August 2 to follow up on agreements made between the two heads of state.