| Chilean president said Saturday he regretted the "deterioration" of his country's relations with Peru and Bolivia and called on the two neighboring nations to takea future-oriented approach in dealing with Chile.
"From October 2001 to the present, the developments of the bilateral relations have not satisfied us, because we have witnessed a deterioration," President Ricardo Lagos said when he visited Arica, a northern city near the borders of Peru and Bolivia.
Chile and Peru have been locked in a dispute on the maritime demarcation in the Pacific Ocean. Peru demands the revision of thesea limits with Chile and said it could resort to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. But Chile held that there are no pending processes in the revision of border which was established with treaties signed over 50 years ago.
Chile has reiterated the maritime demarcation between Chile andPeru was initially established in 1947 and then reaffirmed in 1952 after the two countries, plus Ecuador and Bolivia, held talks on the issue.
"We've made great efforts and we would like to think we are in a condition to improve the initiatives with the governments of Bolivia and Peru," Lagos said.
"When issues occurred, which seemed inappropriate to us, I didn't hesitate to talk with Peru's President Alejandro Toledo and pointed out that the whole issues on the future agenda should be the basis upon which we ought to work together," the president added.
He also stressed the same approach also applies to relations with Bolivia. "If there are issues that come from the past, they are going to be solved on the basis of discussions about an agenda aimed at the future," he said.
Relations between Chile and Bolivia have been strained in the last months, after the Bolivian government and politicians decidedto revive the historical demand for a sovereign sea access lost toChile.
For decades, Bolivia has been demanding that Chile return the territories with a sea access it lost in the 1879 Pacific War, when Chile gained more than 120,000 square km of Bolivian soil and 400 km of its coastline. The two countries have no full diplomatic relations but have maintained consular ties since 1978.
Peru, together with Bolivia, lost to Chile the regions of Aricaand Tarapaca after the war.
During his Saturday visit in Arica, Lagos also expressed his support for the exploitation of underground wells at the National Park of Lauca, a region adjacent to Bolivian border. But the president indicated that an understanding has to be reached first with the Aimara Indian communities, which have opposed the project.
Bolivia rejected this project, saying it could damage local populations as well as the local flora and fauna. |
