"Relations with Venezuela should never have been severed. We are brothers and an imaginary line cannot separate us," said new Colombian Ambassador Armando Benedetti after arriving in Caracas.
Colombia's new ambassador to Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, arrives in Caracas as the two sides resume diplomatic ties on August 28, 2022.
(Twitter/@infopresidencia / Twitter)
Venezuela and Colombia have restored full diplomatic relations after a three-year break as a new leftist government in Bogota takes shape.
A new Colombian ambassador, Armando Benedetti, arrived in Caracas and said on Sunday on Twitter, "Relations with Venezuela should never have been severed. We are brothers and an imaginary line cannot separate us."
He was welcomed by Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister Rander Pena Ramirez.
Colombia's new leftist President, Gustavo Petro, and Venezuela's socialist President Nicolas Maduro announced on August 11 that they planned to restore diplomatic relations that were severed in 2019.
That rupture was the culmination of years of tension between leftist Venezuela and Colombia under successive conservative presidents starting with Alvaro Uribe. Petro is Colombia's first leftist president.
The last president in Colombia, Ivan Duque, did not recognise Maduro as president, but rather opposition leader Juan Guaido. The US also recognises Guaido as Venezuela's "interim president".
READ MORE:Colombia announces border with Venezuela to 'open soon'
Source: AFP
Diplomatic missions of the US and the UK have separately hailed Türkiye for diplomacy to broker deal over grain stuck for months due to ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The first grain-laden ship to leave Ukraine since the conflict with Russia began on Feb. 24 continues to sail to Lebanon after Wednesday's inspection by a team from the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul.
(Reuters)
The diplomatic missions of the US and the UK in Türkiye separately hailed Ankara for efforts to resume export of Ukrainian grain stuck for months due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The first grain-laden ship to leave Ukraine since the conflict with Russia began on February 24 continues to sail to Lebanon after Wednesday's inspection by a team from the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul.
“We welcome the arrival of the cargo ship Razoni in Istanbul today as a vital step towards mitigating the global food security crisis. We applaud Türkiye for its diplomacy to ensure safe passage of grain from Ukraine to global markets,” the US consulate general in Istanbul said on Twitter.
The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni, carrying over 26,500 tons of corn, anchored off the Turkish coast near the Black Sea entrance of the Istanbul Strait on Tuesday night for joint inspections. It departed from Ukraine's port of Odesa on Monday under a historic deal brokered by Ankara last month.
The inspections lasted over an hour, and after getting a security clearance in Istanbul, the ship passed through the Turkish Straits en route to the port of Tripoli in Lebanon.
Separately, in his first video message in Türkiye, Ajay Sharma, British Embassy’s Chargé d'Affaires, said the Ukraine grain deal was only possible because of the diplomatic efforts led by Türkiye and the UN.
“We, as the UK, attach great importance and support to this agreement. This diplomatic success is indeed crucial to eliminating the threat to food security and ending the grain blockade of Ukraine,” Sharma added.
He said the UK will continue to support the implementation of the agreement as it is in the world's interest.
Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed the deal on July 22 to reopen three Ukrainian ports – Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny – for grain export.
The JCC opened on July 27 comprising representatives from Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine to enable safe transportation by merchant ships of commercial foodstuffs and fertilizers from the three key Ukrainian Black Sea ports.
Colombia was one of around 60 countries to reject Venezuela’s 2018 presidential election, which was boycotted by the opposition.
[File] Embassies and consulates in both countries were closed, and flights between the neighbors grounded.
(Reuters)
Venezuela and Colombia will reestablish diplomatic relations at an ambassadorial level when leftist president-elect Gustavo Petro takes office in Bogota on August 7, representatives of the South American neighbors said.
Relations between the two countries were broken in 2019 after Colombian President Ivan Duque refused to recognise the reelection of his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro.
Duque instead backed the claim of opposition leader Juan Guaido to be Venezuela's acting president.
Colombia was one of around 60 countries to do so, having rejected Venezuela's 2018 presidential election that was boycotted by the opposition.
Venezuela's minister of foreign relations Carlos Faria hosted Colombia's foreign minister-elect Alvaro Leyva in San Cristobal on Thursday, the capital of Tachira state on the border between the two countries.
Leyva read out a statement saying that both men had "expressed their desire to progress on a work agenda towards the gradual normalisation of bilateral relations from August 7 by naming ambassadors and diplomatic and consular officials."
Frayed relations
Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first ever elected left-wing president, had said on the campaign trail that he would reestablish diplomatic relations with Venezuela once in office.
Embassies and consulates in both countries were closed, and flights between the neighbors grounded.
Even the land border between the two countries was closed between 2019 and October 2021.
Maduro regularly accuses Duque of being part of supposed plans to topple him, while the conservative president claims his Venezuelan counterpart is harboring Colombian rebels that carry out attacks on his security forces.
On Thursday, Colombia's police force claimed a former guerrilla hiding in Venezuela had offered more than $1.5 million as a reward for the assassination of Duque.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports signed in Istanbul a day ago was an important success.
Internationally praised for its mediator role, Türkiye has coordinated with Moscow and Kiev to open a corridor from the Ukrainian port city of Odessa to restart shipments stuck due to the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fifth month.
(AA)
Türkiye is determined to forge ahead with its diplomatic efforts until there is peace between Russia and Ukraine, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.
Speaking at an event in the central Kayseri province on Saturday, Erdogan said the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports signed in Istanbul was an important success.
Türkiye is making a “substantial contribution” to efforts to overcome a global food crisis, he added.
With the mediation of Türkiye and the UN, Kyiv and Moscow signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume Ukrainian grain shipments from Black Sea ports.
Under the deal, reached on a UN-led plan during talks in Istanbul, a coordination centre will be established to carry out joint inspections at the entrances and exits of harbours, and to ensure the safety of the routes.
Internationally praised for its mediator role, Türkiye has coordinated with Moscow and Kiev to open a corridor from the Ukrainian port city of Odessa to restart shipments stuck due to the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fifth month.
Türkiye also hosted a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in the Mediterranean city of Antalya in March, part of its push to forge peace between the warring sides.
![[File] Embassies and consulates in both countries were closed, and flights between the neighbors grounded.](https://cdni0.trtworld.com/w960/h540/q75/136765_ReutersAugust72010ColombiaVenezuela_1659052786353.jpeg)
