Lula rejects Chávez' meddling in South America
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva warned his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez that his regional interferences are jeopardizing both integration and a project to build a South American gas pipeline, Tuesday said the Brazilian Foreign Affairs minister Celso Amorim before the Congress.
Amorim's remarks came during a hearing before the Senate Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on the consequences for Brazil of Bolivia recent move to nationalize its hydrocarbons.
A large portion of the hearing focused on Chávez' influence and role in South America. Several senators lashed out at Chávez' presence in a quadrilateral presidential summit held last week in Puerto Iguazú, Argentina.
During the meeting of the presidents of Argentina, Néstor Kirchner; Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; Bolivia, Evo Morales, and Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, they addressed the issue of energy security following nationalization of Bolivian huge gas resources on May 1st, Efe reported.
Amorim justified Chávez' presence at the meeting as necessary for South American energy integration. "But yes, President Chávez was advised of our discomfort and the personal discomfort of President Lula for some of his (Chávez') actions," the Brazilian diplomat explained.
Some senators hinted that Chávez is trying to use state oil giant Pdvsa to train Bolivian staff who are then going to operate oil and gas facilities the Brazilian state oil firm Petrobras owns in Bolivia.
"I could not tell. We do not know Chávez' intention. But the truth is that threats (from Bolivia against Brazil) were published in the press, in parallel to an increased presence of Pdvsa officials" in Bolivia, Amorim said.
Amorim's remarks came during a hearing before the Senate Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on the consequences for Brazil of Bolivia recent move to nationalize its hydrocarbons.
A large portion of the hearing focused on Chávez' influence and role in South America. Several senators lashed out at Chávez' presence in a quadrilateral presidential summit held last week in Puerto Iguazú, Argentina.
During the meeting of the presidents of Argentina, Néstor Kirchner; Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; Bolivia, Evo Morales, and Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, they addressed the issue of energy security following nationalization of Bolivian huge gas resources on May 1st, Efe reported.
Amorim justified Chávez' presence at the meeting as necessary for South American energy integration. "But yes, President Chávez was advised of our discomfort and the personal discomfort of President Lula for some of his (Chávez') actions," the Brazilian diplomat explained.
Some senators hinted that Chávez is trying to use state oil giant Pdvsa to train Bolivian staff who are then going to operate oil and gas facilities the Brazilian state oil firm Petrobras owns in Bolivia.
"I could not tell. We do not know Chávez' intention. But the truth is that threats (from Bolivia against Brazil) were published in the press, in parallel to an increased presence of Pdvsa officials" in Bolivia, Amorim said.
posted by Alice at
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home