Colombian President Alvaro Uribe cancelled his attendance at the Latin American climate change summit in Brazil on Thursday due to health reasons, the Casa de Nariño announced Wednesday.
In a letter to Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, Uribe explained his doctor had advised him against flying due to an accident on his farm on the weekend. Apparently the Colombian Head of State sustained an injury after a foal kicked him in the calf, Caracol Radio reported.
Brazil’s President Lula da Silva had proposed the summit in Manaus as an opportunity for Colombia and Venezuela to sit down face to face and settle their differences and said Brazil was willing to mediate discussions.
Venezuela froze relations with Colombia in late July following a military agreement between Colombia and Washington which allows U.S. military access to airbases throughout Colombian territory.
Tensions heightened when Chavez called upon his military forces and the Venezuelan public to prepare for war with Colombia however, he retracted this statement several days later denying that he was promoting armed conflict.
The situation remains fragile and unresolved while Colombia has approached both the UN and the Organization of American States to intervene in the crisis.