Brovetto made the remarks to Uruguayan Television at the request of Uruguay's President Tabare Vazquez, who is currently ona tour to the United States.

"Vazquez is seeking 'more and better Mercosur,'" Brovetto said, in response to a Monday report by Uruguay Channel 10 that Uruguay would leave Mercosur and become a mere associate member, like Chile and Bolivia.

Brovetto said that Vazquez would give a statement of his position on Thursday after a meeting with U.S. President, George W. Bush.

Uruguay has been disgruntled with Argentina because of a conflict over two paper mills on the Uruguay River, which forms part of the boundary between the two nations.

Argentine protestors have marched against the factories and closed roads to Uruguay, saying that paper mills will pollute Argentine land, and the government has done nothing to stop them.

On the same day, Ecuador, an associate member of Mercosur, denied reports that a planned Ecuador-United States free trade agreement, now in negotiation, had been killed following recent protests.

"We are doing all we can to restart the talks for a free trade deal, which are currently suspended, and we are not going to change our criteria," said Francisco Carrion, the Ecuadorian foreign minister. He noted talks will be resumed because they serve the interests of both sides.

He said the Ecuadorian government had sent a letter to the U.S. State Department, calling for restarting the negotiations as soon as possible with the intention of reaching a deal by May 15.

Negotiations were halted on April 4, due to disagreements over intellectual property rights and agriculture.