Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Tuesday made damning criticisms of Venezuela, accusing the socialist country of trying to “mess with us,” and calling on Colombians not to fall for their neighbor’s “deceptions.”
In an outspoken interview with a national radio station Uribe asked “Oh, so they’re going to mess with us? We’ll wait until Uribe goes to see if we have good relations? … Let the country not fall for this little deception.”
The president suggested that the fight against terrorist groups should be the priority of both countries, arguing that “relations between countries have core interests and one of these core interests is the fight in all countries against terrorism.”
“How about a president who says that to have good relations I’m going to talk with these presidents, we’ll embrace over cocktails, exchange smiles and I’m not going to push that we confront the FARC and ELN, because I value relations,” Uribe ranted.
“Yes, it’s all very well for the cocktails and all very bad for the Colombian people,” the president concluded.
The Colombian leader’s comments follow Venezuela’s repeated statements that it does not intend to fix diplomatic relations with its neighbor while Uribe is in power
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said Monday that no reconciliation could take place until after the new president takes power in August. “It’s necessary to wait until the Colombian people make their decision and choose a president, and from there we can start to walk the path that’s possible to walk.”