Last update - 17:59 13/01/2009
A week after expelling Israeli officials over Gaza op, Venezuela looks to repair ties
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
Less than a week after Venezuela announced it was expelling the entire Israeli diplomatic mission to Caracas in the wake of the Israel Defense Forces Operation Cast Lead, the South American country passed a message to Israel on Tuesday in which it said they are not interested in breaking off diplomatic relations with Israel.
Venezuela expelled Israel's ambassador in Caracas last Tuesday to protest the offensive in Gaza. The move came just hours after President Hugo Chavez called the attacks a "holocaust."
Israeli Ambassador to Venezuela Shlomo Cohen returned to Israel this week where he spoke by phone with several officials from the Venezuela Foreign Ministry, including the heads of the Asian affairs division.
Cohen was reportedly surprised to hear from the two officials that Venezuela is looking for Israel to send a temporary supervisor to Caracas, so they can work towards reestablishing a diplomatic mission in the South American capital.
Cohen told the two that Israel was under the impression that Venezuela had severed diplomatic ties after expelling Israel's diplomatic team from Caracas. The two Venezuelan officials told Cohen it was not their intention for Israel to close the embassy and if he got that impression, it was a mistake.
The Foreign Ministry is currently still in the process of determining Venezuela's intentions and the possibility of sending a temporary appointee who can go to Caracas to reopen the embassy. The ministry has so far decided not to expel the Venezuelan Ambassador to Israel and has reportedly received messages from Venezuela that they are open to Israel sending a temporary diplomatic official to Caracas.
Sources in the Foreign Ministry have said the messages received from Venezuela illustrate how they "realize they made a mistake [by expelling the Israeli Ambassador] and are trying to fix it."
haaretz**
- Citation :
- je crois que le vénézuela a une inflation de 30% ceci pourrait expliquer cela.
Le Venezuela perd la maîtrise de l'inflation - 13 jan 2009
Avec un taux d'inflation de 30,9 % en 2008, le Venezuela arrive en tête des pays latino-américains pour la troisième année consécutive, selon le chiffre ...
Le Monde
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Mer 14 Jan - 16:18
