Friday 07

Fernández, Chávez and Ortega meet ahead of Rio Group Summit
Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernández Friday delayed the opening ceremony of the 20th Rio Group Summit to meet with the presidents of Venezuela and Nicaragua, Hugo Chávez and Daniel Ortega, respectively.

The meeting intends to reach a consensus on a statement by the Rio Group in connection with the conflict facing Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela following a Colombian military attack against a camp of the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) in Ecuador last weekend, Dominican sources said.

Chávez, Ortega and Ecuadorian ruler Rafael Correa Friday stated that the Rio Group should condemn Colombia without any palliatives.

Leonel Fernández opens summit amidst Andean conflict
Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernández Friday opened the Rio Group Summit with a message advocating reconciliation to solve regional problems.
 
With a crisis facing Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador as backdrop, Fernández stated that the summit provided "an extraordinary chance to consolidate the relations among our peoples, strengthen cooperation efforts and bolster consensus," Efe reported.

"We should be capable of speaking calmly about our problems," added Fernández.

Chávez, Correa in Dominican Republic for Rio Group Summit
Venezuelan and Ecuadorian presidents Hugo Chávez and Rafael Correa, respectively, late Thursday arrived in Santo Domingo to take part in the 20th Rio Group Summit, where the Venezuelan ruler is set to address a crisis between the two countries and Colombia -an issue that is not included in the agenda.

Upon his arrival in the airport, Chávez said that even though the topic was not in the agenda of the summit starting Friday, he expected to discuss the diplomatic crisis unleashed by a Colombian Army incursion into Ecuadorian territory last February 29, AFP reported.

Colombian President Álvaro Uribe is also taking part in the 20th Rio Group Summit, and arrived in the Dominican Republic earlier than Chávez and Correa. This is the first time the three rulers are to meet amidst their diplomatic impasse, and could be a way to reconciliation.

Chávez makes call to avoid a war in Latin America
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Friday made a call to avoid a war in Latin America, and advocate a process leading to the transformation of the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) into a political party "without killing its members."

"Let them give in their weapons and organize a political party, but do not kill them," Chávez said upon his arrival in a Santo Domingo hotel, where he is attending the 20th Rio Group Summit.

He asked the FARC to "humanize the war, and not to use abductions as a war weapon."

Correa asks the Rio Group to condemn Colombian attack
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa Friday in Santo Domingo asked the 20th Rio Group Summit to "provide enough satisfactions to Ecuador for Colombian attack and violation of its sovereignty."

Upon his arrival in the place where the summit is taking place, Correa claimed that the Rio Group was created to deal with this kind of situations, and hoped "the warmonger behaviors to be uprooted," Efe reported.

Meanwhile, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who last Thursday broke his relations with Colombia, Friday in Santo Domingo asked for "a condemnation" against Colombia for the attack against Ecuador.

Uribe: Letters suggest link between the FARC and Ecuadorian ruler
Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Friday mentioned a number of letters from the late second highest-ranking leader of the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) Raúl Reyes and obtained by the Colombian government, and claimed that such documents suggest the guerrilla group has links to Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and his government.

According to Uribe, in a letter Reyes forwarded to the FARC top leader Manuel Marulanda, the late guerrilla leader pointed to a number of contacts with Ecuador, including "the electoral help delivered to Rafael Correa" ahead of the vote where he won the presidency.

"Here I have the letters," the ruler said, adding the documents would be handed over to the justice for analysis.

Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela make peace with handshake
The presidents of Ecuador and Colombia, Rafael Correa and Álvaro Uribe, respectively, Friday settled their dispute with a handshake at the end of the 20th Rio Group Summit held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The host of the summit, Dominican President Leonel Fernández, suggested that the three presidents hug each other as a gesture marking the end of the diplomatic crisis.

"And with this, this incident that has caused so much damage (is) resolved," said to thunderous applause the Ecuadorian ruler.

Afterwards, the Colombian President walked towards Rafael Correa, Hugo Chávez and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to shake their hands.

After the impasse was overcome, President Ortega announced he was restoring diplomatic relations with Colombia.