Colombian President Álvaro Uribe again asked Defense Minister Juan
Manuel Santos to not get involved in foreign affairs after
remarks made by Santos again caused rage in Ecuador and Venezuela.
Santos had caused anger by implying Colombia would again attack a neighboring country if it was harboring terrorists. Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa reacted furiously and Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry immediately sent out a press release calling Santos “a threat for the stability and the sovereignty of countries in the region”.
Uribe talked to Santos Tuesday and again asked him to be prudent, reminding him that only Foreign Minister Jaime Bermúdez is authorized to speak about matters involving Venezuela and its ally Ecuador.
“The Government is keen to develop a constructive agenda as defined with the President of the Bolivarian Rapublic of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez,” the President said in a press release after the meeting.
Ecuador, with who Colombia has had no diplomatic ties after the march , 2008 attack on a FARC camp on Ecuadorean territory, was left unmentioned in the press release, but the President reoterated that the Government is “willing to keep and construct good relations with all neighbor countries.”