Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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March 8, 2008

Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela Agree to End Border Crisis
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1B7B112:A6F02AD83191E160183F3C36C52FEC5DE55ED32ED25AB8F6& Crisis brought
nations to brink of military clashes, after Colombian forces attacked
FARC rebels inside Ecuador The presidents of Colombia and Ecuador say
they have resolved a dispute sparked by a Colombian attack on a rebel
base inside Ecuador last week. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports
the agreement came after the two exchanged harsh words during a
regional summit.







Colombian President Alvaro Uribe speaks during the opening session of
the Rio Group summit in Santo Domingo, 07 Mar 2008The dispute between
the two South American nations dominated talks between heads of state
of the Rio Group in the Dominican Republic on Friday.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe again apologized Ecuador for
Saturday's cross-border attack that killed more than 20 militants of
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC.

But he criticized the reaction of Ecuador's President Rafael Correa,
adding his government has failed to cooperate in efforts to rein in
the rebels.

Mr. Uribe said Mr. Correa's claims that the attack was a massacre
ignore the reality of the terrorist threat posed by the FARC.

Later, Mr. Uribe and Mr. Correa worked with other heads of state at
the summit to draft a statement resolving the dispute. The draft said
Colombia apologized for the incident and vowed never again to violate
another nation's sovereignty. It also called on nations to fight armed
groups that use violence or threaten regional stability.

President Correa said he was pleased with the resolution and accepted
Colombia's apology.

Mr. Correa said with the agreement, the two sides can leave behind the
grave incident that had caused his country great harm.

The two men shook hands at the close of the meeting, as regional
leaders applauded the agreement.

Earlier this week, Ecuador, Venezuela and Nicaragua said they had cut
relations with Colombia because of the dispute. After the agreement
was reached, the Venezuelan and Nicaraguan presidents said they hopes
to restore ties with Bogota.




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