COLOMBIA: Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and French President Nicolas Sarkozy explore new ways to free Colombian hostages

Amid a breakdown in relations between Venezuela and Colombia over the fate of rebel-held hostages, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Saturday (December 1) attempted to advance an alliance with France. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been working with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Uribe in trying to obtain the release of hundreds of hostages, including French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt, a former Colombian presidential candidate. Last week, Uribe suspended Chavez's involvement in the negotiations after claiming that Chavez overstepped his bounds. Chavez responded by breaking off relations with Colombia. Uribe is now looking to Sarkozy for help. "I am aware that these hostages have to be freed but without forgetting about the other 750 Colombians who have been kidnapped by the FARC during the past few years," he said, during the inauguration of a hospital on the island of San Andres. In a Saturday phone call with Uribe, Sarkozy urged the FARC to free the hostages and pledged to "redouble efforts" to end their ordeal, according to a statement from Sarkozy's office. A FARC commander told Venezuela's state news agency ABN Sarkozy could play a "key role" in any future hostage deal Uribe also made indirect references to Chavez's comments against his administration. "I get worried when I hear voices that unjustly harm the government" he said, suggesting at the same time the kidnappers were getting sympathy. His comments came just a day after Colombian authorities seized a haul of letters and grainy video from captured leftist guerrillas that showed for the first time since 2003, Betancourt, three U.S. contract workers and a dozen kidnapped Colombians were still alive.

ITN Source | December 2, 2007

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