Western Hemisphere
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Dominican Republic said in a statement issued on Tuesday that it tried to contact Venezuelan authorities to inform them about the work methodology and actions that would be carried out in a process of mediation with Colombia, but "unfortunately we did not get any answer."

Dominican President Leonel Fernández unsuccessfully tried to meet with his Venezuelan counterpart after a meeting with Colombian President Álvaro Uribe last week.

The Venezuelan stance would be to keep relations with Colombia "frozen" and address the issue with the new Colombian administration.

Meanwhile, Ángel Lockward, the Dominican Republic Ambassador to Bogotá, announced his resignation on Tuesday after an impasse with the head of Colombian Foreign Ministry's protocol.

On Tuesday night, the government of Uribe issued a statement to express its gratitude to the President of Dominican Republic for his mediation to ease the strained relations between Venezuela and Colombia.

Reyes Theis
EL UNIVERSAL