Spain's Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero asked Venezuela to "respect" former Prime Minister José María Aznar and the judge of the Spanish National Court, Eloy Velasco, following criticism against them from Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Zapatero told Spanish public television Televisión Española (TVE) that Venezuelan foreign policy chief made "some comments that in my view are not acceptable," as reported by DPA.

"This is not the first time that I have come out in defense of Prime Minister Aznar, precisely with Venezuela," said the Socialist leader referring, without mentioning directly to the verbal confrontation with Hugo Chávez in the Ibero-American Summit held in Chile.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said over the weekend that Spanish judge Eloy Velasco, who issued an indictment in which he apparently established an alleged alliance between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Basque separatist group ETA, was associated to the "mafia" of former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and Mariano Rajoy, the current leader of the opposition Popular Party.

Spanish ministerial sources said that Maduro's statements had been recorded two days before the joint statement signed on Saturday by the Spanish and Venezuelan governments, Efe reported.

Zapatero also called for cooperation with the Venezuelan government. "Now we must work hard with Venezuela to prevent any ETA members who may be there from getting any kind of support or coverage… I hope to count on Venezuela's government, to which I ask for respect for the judiciary and ex President Aznar."