Chile Hails Bolivian Readiness to Talk

Santiago, Chile
Chilean Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley described Bolivia´s willingness to retake bilateral dialogue as a very positive step toward finding a solution to the territorial dispute between the two countries.

The minister told local and foreign reporters that the statements made in that regard on Wednesday by Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia "are in tune with our government´s position".

Foxley added that the talks "we had in the beginning", in which one of the main issues was that Bolivia´s demand for access to the sea should be a bilateral issue instead of a multilateral one, have been retaken.

He noted that Garcia´s statements are in tune, "in the sense that the maritime issue is a bilateral issue, agrees with our opinion and, in that regard, makes things easier to begin working when each country has its agenda ready".

The Bolivian vice president pointed out that his government had defined "three general guidelines" to solve the dispute: the "staunch position on sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean, bilateral discussion of the issue and support for people's democracy".