S. American leaders to meet in New York over Bolivian political crisis
23/9/2008 17:55
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has called a fresh summit of the Union
of South American Nations (Unasur) in New York, the Chilean Foreign Ministry
said yesterday.
The summit, to be held tomorrow at the UN headquarters, will
be attended by most of the 12 presidents from Unasur member countries, with the
exception of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is now on a tour which
includes China and Portugal.
The aim of the summit is to find ways to resolve
the political crisis in Bolivia. Among the topics to be discussed at the summit
is a preliminary report on the dialogue between Bolivian President Evo Morales
and the opposition.
Bachelet, as the temporary president of Unasur, will also
discuss with her colleagues the creation of a dialogue commission.
The
commission will be led by Chilean diplomat Juan Gabriel Valdes, who will also
attend the summit.
Valdes told a local Chilean radio station yesterday that
he was glad that the opposition and the government had shown their willingness
to reach an agreement and to rebuild trust, adding that the process to reach
peace might take longer.
"Obviously there are problems, but I think that
nobody is questioning ...the territorial integrity of the country," Valdes
added.
Bachelet traveled last night to New York where she will fulfill an
intense agenda of bilateral meetings, besides the Unasur summit, one of them
with Morales.
Last week, the Unasur members in Santiago, during the bloc's
first extraordinary summit on the Bolivian political crisis, gave wide support
to the government of Bolivian President Evo Morales and said they will not allow
a coupe and the use of violence in that country.
Xinhua
|
