The Venezuelan government on Wednesday welcomed the fact that Colombia has decided to participate in the meeting of Unasur foreign ministers to be held Thursday in Quito, the Ecuadorian capital, said Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro upon his arrival in Lima, Peru.

"I read in some newspapers earlier today (Wednesday) that the current Colombian government, the outgoing government, has announced that it will participate in the meeting to be held in Quito. We hope that they will go to the meeting. In fact, we convened the meeting," Maduro said.

"We made this request (to convene the meeting) because of the serious political and diplomatic aggression against us perpetrated by the outgoing Colombian government, and given the very serious threats to peace and security of our country in this last minute mad race led by the (Colombian) outgoing government," the Venezuelan top diplomat said.

"We hope that, once it takes office, the new (Colombian) government can establish a true and respectful relationship with the Bolivarian government led by Commander Hugo Chávez, and that we can talk about peace, future, integration and the union of South America," said the Venezuelan Foreign Minister.