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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Ecuador, Colombia plan talks

Gonzalo Solano Associated Press

QUITO, Ecuador – Ecuador and Colombia will hold direct talks to mend diplomatic relations that ruptured a year and a half ago after a cross-border military raid that killed Colombian rebels inside Ecuador, officials said Monday.

Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Fander Falconi said he will meet with his Colombian counterpart, Jaime Bermudez, early next week on the sidelines of a U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York.

In Bogota, Bermudez said the meeting is part of “discreet” negotiations being facilitated by the Georgia-based Carter Center and the Organization of American States.

Ecuador’s foreign minister warned against hopes for an immediate breakthrough.

This is the first time the two countries have fixed a firm date to talk about re-establishing diplomatic relations.