Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs Fernando Araújo Monday declined to make comments about Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez' concern regarding his efforts to achieve a humanitarian swap of hostages in Colombia.

In an interview with Bogota Caracol Radio, Araújo said such agreement was a subject in the hands of Colombian President Álvaro Uribe and the high commissioner for peace Luis Carlos Restrepo, Efe said.

"The best contribution I can make to this issue is to keep away from this issue, particularly regarding public comments about the topic," the diplomat said.

This way, Araújo avoided making comments about the remarks made on Sunday by Chávez, who once again asked Uribe to facilitate Chávez' planned meeting in Venezuela with a leader of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC).

Chávez asked his Colombian counterpart to allow the rebel leader to travel to the Colombia-Venezuela border in airplane. According to Chávez, the meeting scheduled to take place on October 8 was adjourned because of safety concerns.