Colombia-Venezuela meeting in Caracas to end crisis

February 15, 2005 After five hours of meeting, the presidents Hugo Chávez from Venezuela and Alvaro Uribe from Colombia put a end to the diplomatic tension that had completed two months. The crisis started with the alleged irregular arrest (according to Venezuela) of the FARC guerrilla Rodrigo Granda by Colombian authorities.

President Chavez said: "We have decided to turn the page so we can fix the things that were misadjusted, clarify the things that could be clouded and work together in the construction for the common people".

The meeting was scheduled for early this month, however it was postponed due to a disease of the Colombian president.

The encounter served both to finish the harshness between the two countries and  to resume  bilateral agreements and  the activity in the border which were paralyzed as a result of the crisis.

Moreover Chávez insisted on Venezuela is not a santuary of guerrillas. Uribe admitted that the Colombian armed conflict is a problem which must be solved by his country despite the disturbances caused by subversive groups  in the neighboring countries to Colombia.

As a result of the meeting, the presidents will organize a binational high level commission  in the next weeks. The commission will evaluate the crisis's consequences, reinforce the integration between both countries and coordinate the future of the antiterrorist fight. The fight against terrorism will be done by security organisms of both countries by means of a rigorous legal adjustment in the actions which implies to cooperate so that the sovereignty is not affected and the sovereignty  is  respected, according to Uribe.

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