Colombia, Venezuela to normalize ties

Colombia and Venezuela agreed on Monday to normalize relations and restore their respective ambassadors following a diplomatic row that was triggered by Venezuela's closure of its border with Colombia and its deportation of over 1,000 Colombians.

The two countries had expelled each other's ambassadors during an August campaign led by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to crack down on smuggling of food and fuel across the border with Colombia.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos met with Maduro in Quito, Ecuador on Monday to reduce tensions, and both sides agreed to "progressively normalize the border" and to hold additional meetings in Caracas regarding the border situation on Wednesday.

"The two heads of state committed to building an agreement, oriented toward fraternal coexistence, that will resolve the problems of the shared border," said a joint statement read out by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa.

The meeting was the first between Maduro and Santos since the crisis broke out on August 19. Afterwards, Maduro said: "Common sense prevailed." Santos described the meeting as "calm, respectful and productive."

"We are united in the fight against criminal gangs, smuggling and drug trafficking. We are also united in the goal to improve welfare of residents on both sides of the border," Santos was quoted as saying after the meeting by the Colombian daily "El Tiempo."

Venezuela's heavy subsidies and price controls allow smugglers to buy up a range of items including food and fuel and sell them across the border in Colombia for great profit. Maduro had previously accused Colombia of waging an "attack on Venezuela's economy."

Maduro ordered the border closed after an attack on Venezuelan troops by an alleged paramilitary group.

The government then deported some 1,400 Colombians who authorities said were in the country illegally, or had ties to paramilitaries. A further 20,000 were forced to leave their homes in border towns and wade across rivers into Colombia out of fear of being forcibly deported..

The border region has often been a source of tension between the two nations and was often the site of diplomatic spats between former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

bw/cmk (Reuters, AFP, dpa)