Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro on Sunday told press his country is “most willing” to take the necessary steps to restore relations with neighboring Colombia.
Maduro was responding to a statement by his Colombian counterpart Jaime Bermudez, who on Saturday asked Venezuela to plan a meeting so the two bickering neighbors can reconcile.
“I invite Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro to a bilateral meeting, so we can mutually agree and move forward,” Bermudez said.
In his response, Maduro said that the administration of Hugo Chavez is “most willing to move forward” in restoring relations with Colombia and that he hopes that the two nations can coordinate meetings.
Following a verbal clash between Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez at the Rio Summit in Mexico last week, Mexican President Felipe Calderon proposed to form a “group of friends” to mediate between the two neighbors.
“We are very positive about this intiative and are awaiting talks to take place through the group of friends,” Maduro said.
