The meeting scheduled between Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez will not be held in Bogota, but in the Caribbean town of Santa Marta.
According to Colombian media, the newly sworn-in Santos hopes “that in this meeting we can draw conclusions that lead to the normalization of relations between the two countries.”
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro announced the summit on Sunday, the day after Santos’ inauguration.
Following claims made in late July by former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe that Venezuela is harboring Colombian guerrillas of the FARC and ELN, Chavez cut all diplomatic ties and vowed to further clamp down on trade between the two neighbors.
Before assuming the presidency Santos said he would seek to normalize relations with Colombia’s socialist neighbor.
