Colombia, Ecuador restore ties under Carter deal
Fri Jun 6, 2008 1:20pm EDT
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ATLANTA (Reuters) - Colombia and Ecuador have agreed to renew low-level diplomatic relations under a deal brokered by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, the Atlanta-based Carter Center said on Friday.
The relations will be restored at the level of charges d'affaires, according to the center. Ecuador severed ties with Colombia following a cross-border raid by Colombia's army against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrillas in March.
Colombia accused neighboring Ecuador of harboring Colombian rebels, a charge Ecuador has denied.
Carter, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, has worked with the U.N. Development Program to support a dialogue group composed of citizens from both countries to improve relations, a Carter Center statement said.
"Carter also consulted each president about the possibility of renewing diplomatic relations between the two countries immediately and without preconditions," the statement said.
"Today (Friday), both presidents confirmed their willingness to do so immediately through their respective foreign ministries," it said.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe issued a statement on Friday saying he was ready to re-establish diplomatic relations with Ecuador immediately. There was no immediate comment from Ecuador's government.
(Additional reporting by Hugh Bronstein in Bogota)
(Writing by Matthew Bigg; editing by Jim Loney and Stacey Joyce)
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN0628014920080606