Venezuela asked the E.U. Thursday to urge Colombia and the U.S. to desist from “turning Lat Am into an unstable zone” by retracting their military agreement.
The Venezuelan government called upon members of the E.U. to dissuade Bogota and Washington from turning Latin America into a zone of instability, conflict and death through the establishment of the recent military agreement between the two countries which will allow the U.S. military access to various airbases throughout Colombia.
A press release issued by Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry stated that the government of President Hugo Chavez “wishes to reiterate to E.U. institutions that the tense situation currently being experienced throughout South America is a result of the United States government decision to install seven military bases in Colombian territory.”
The E.U. on Thursday warned Colombia and Venezuela to avoid actions that will aggravate their already tense relations and instead to seek dialogue and mutual trust.
The Venezuelan government concluded by saying that the restoration of relations with Colombia would only be possible if Colombian authorities could maintain transparency and abide unconditionally by internationally recognized laws of peaceful coexistence.
Relations between Venezuela and Colombia have been frozen since the end of July following the signing of the Col – U.S. military agreement. The situation along the Ven – Col frontier is fragile and several violent incidents have erupted resulting in deaths on both sides and aggravated tensions.
Two weeks ago Chavez worsened the situation by calling upon his military forces and the Venezuelan public to prepare for war with Colombia however, however he retracted this statement several days later denying that he was promoting armed conflict.