BOGOTÁ, Colombia -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and his Colombian counterpart, Álvaro Uribe, have agreed to restore relations and strengthen bilateral trade between their two countries, bringing an end to months of bitter feuds between the two leaders. "As of now, a new era begins with Colombia. We decided to completely turn the page. The storm has passed," Chávez told reporters Friday, after hosting a private one-day meeting with Uribe at one of the world's largest oil refineries in Punto Fijo, Venezuela. "We will relaunch our ties, starting on a personal level and then moving on to political, social and economic relations," he added. Earlier this year, Colombia-Venezuela relations sank to their lowest point in decades when Chávez recalled his ambassador in Bogotá and briefly deployed troops to the border with Colombia following a Colombian raid into Ecuador that killed a commander of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Uribe, Chávez Attempt to Turn the Page on Colombia-Venezuela Relations
