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Caracas (AFP) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro congratulated his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro on Sunday after assuming power, and renewed his desire to rebuild relations with his neighbor, after years of tensions.
“I extend my hand to the people of Colombia, to President Gustavo Petro, to rebuild brotherhood on the basis of respect and love among peoples,” Maduro said in a video recording from his residence in Caracas and posted on social media.
Maduro was not invited to the inauguration of Colombia’s first leftist president. The outgoing government of Ivan Duque, archenemy of President Chavista, was responsible for international invitations.
Maduro cut ties with Colombia in 2019 after Duque ignored his re-election and supported the declaration of opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s interim president.
It is scheduled to restore official relations in the coming days, a rapprochement, according to Maduro, that will be “for the peace of Colombia and the peace of Venezuela.”
“Here we are, the sword, Bolivar, the story,” Maduro said, wearing a tracksuit next to the television as the work continued. “A second chance, as President Petro says, we must take advantage of it,” Maduro continued, citing the Colombian president’s speech at the Plaza de Bolivar in Bogota.
“Congratulations to all of Colombia, congratulations to President Petro, good luck! God bless you.”
The two leaders spoke by phone after the second round on June 19, and on July 28, Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva met with his counterpart Carlos Faria in the Venezuelan state of Tachira, where one of the most important border crossings between Venezuela and Venezuela is located. Colombia, closed due to tensions.
The meeting agreed on the gradual normalization of bilateral relations as of August 7, with the appointment of ambassadors and other diplomatic and consular officials.
Diplomatic frictions resulted in the border being closed for extended periods, allowing only pedestrian traffic.
The inauguration in the border city of San Antonio (Tachira) was accompanied by eagerly awaited businessmen to reopen trade and sympathizers who also enjoyed a “peace and life” concert at an international bridge.
© 2022 AFP
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