06 March 2000
Honduras, Nicaragua Seek to Resolve Maritime Dispute
(Fourth round of talks taking place March 6-7) (410) By Eric Green Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- The foreign ministers of Honduras and Nicaragua are holding a fourth round of talks March 6-7 aimed at reducing tensions arising from a maritime dispute between the two countries. The talks, taking place at the Organization of American States (OAS), will explore ways to implement an agreement reached in February by the two countries to reduce troop levels and work toward creating a military-free zone in the Caribbean Sea. Luigi Einuadi, a retired U.S. diplomat who is mediating the talks, said in a statement that both Honduras and Nicaragua "remain firm in their commitment to resolve their differences in accordance with international law." From the beginning, Einuadi said, the two countries "have both worked to keep the peace and further the process of integration in Central America." The agreement that was signed February 7 in El Salvador will be in effect while the International Court of Justice at The Hague determines the maritime boundary between Honduras and Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea. Signing the agreement for Honduras was Foreign Minister Roberto Flores Bermudez; signing for Nicaragua was Foreign Minister Eduardo Montealegre Rivas. The agreement gave both countries 30 days to reduce troops and military posts in the disputed areas to levels prior to last September 1. In addition, they were to form joint patrols, in which OAS member countries may participate, to prevent incidents in the disputed zone. Tensions had arisen in the region as the result of the approval by the Honduran Congress in late 1999 of a maritime treaty with Colombia that recognized Colombian claims to large areas of the Caribbean waters that were also claimed by Nicaragua. Tensions were further heightened when the Nicaraguan parliament retaliated for the treaty by passing a 35-percent tariff on merchandise imported from Honduras. Einaudi, a visiting senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C., retired from the State Department in 1997 after a long diplomatic career. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to the OAS from 1989 to 1993. From 1995 to 1998, he was the U.S. Special Envoy in the peace talks that led to a comprehensive settlement of the boundary conflict between Ecuador and Peru. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)
|
This site is produced and maintained by the U.S. Department of State. Links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views contained therein. 
|
|||||||
 IIP Home ||||||
|
