Venezuela reestablishes diplomatic ties with Colombia

CARACAS, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry announced Sunday that the nation has reestablished diplomatic relations with Colombia and will send its diplomatic staff back to the Colombian capital Bogota immediately.

Venezuela withdrew its embassy staff from Colombia and expelled Colombian diplomats in the country on last Sunday in support of Ecuador after the Colombian military trespassed Ecuadoran territory in a cross-border raid against the rebels of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The ministry said it is reopening its embassy in Bogota and is willing to receive Colombia diplomats to the Venezuelan capital Caracas.

A statement from the ministry said the Venezuelan government was pleased to see a victory for peace and sovereignty at a Friday meeting in the Dominican Republic's capital Santo Domingo, where the presidents of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela shook hands and agreed to end the three-nation dispute.

CARACAS, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday that his country would normalize its diplomatic relations with Colombia very soon, soured days ago due to a border crisis.

Chavez, who would soon return home from the 20th Rio Group Summit held in the Dominican Republic, said he would hold a cabinet meeting on Friday night to normalize his country's relations with Colombia. Full story

SANTO DOMINGO, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said on Friday that the diplomatic crisis with Colombia, triggered by its cross-border raid on rebel groups operating in Ecuador, has ended with a shake of hands by the leaders.

At a Rio Group summit that concluded here on Friday, Correa and the Dominican Republic's President Leonel Fernandez shook hands with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. Full story

SANTO DOMINGO, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Dominican Republic's President Leonel Fernandez inaugurated on Friday the 20th Rio Group Summit meeting, calling for strengthening the development of energy and resolving regional problems.

The summit's theme is energy, development and natural disasters, although the diplomatic conflict triggered by Colombia's military incursion into Ecuadorian territory on Saturday is another important issue. Full story

BOGOTA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Another chief of Colombia's rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) was killed on Friday earlier during the combats in central Colombia, military sources said in Friday.

Ivan Rios was the second chief of the FARC to be killed in a Colombian military operation. Full story

QUITO, March 6 (Xinhua) -- The Ecuadorian army said on Thursday it would continue to fight Colombian rebel groups operating in Ecuador although the South American nation has broken off diplomatic relations with Colombia.

The Ecuador army would not allow foreign rebel groups to enter the country and would continue to crack down on the Colombian rebels operating in Ecuador, including the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a senior officer said. Full story

LIMA, March 6 (Xinhua) -- The Andean Parliament (Parlandino) issued the Lima Declaration Thursday, calling on Ecuador and Colombia to launch dialogue to restore diplomatic ties and resolve the crisis between the two nations.

The Lima Declaration, released at the end of an extraordinary meeting of the Parlandino, urged the presidents of Peru, Bolivia and Chile to hold a special summit comprising the heads of states of the Andean Community (CAN) to resolve the diplomatic crisis.