MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Our Iraq position won't bring reprisals from U.S.

Responding to the fears of some here that Washington will retaliate against Chile for its anti-war stance on Iraq, the foreign minister on Monday expressed her view that a free-trade pact between the two countries is “completely independent” of geopolitical tit-for-tat.

"Every (commercial) agreement, following a period of negotiations, has to be put into a final draft. It's a normal process and I would like to completely separate that from this other multilateral issue," Foreign Minister Soledad Alvear said Monday.

Alvear told Canal 13 television that Chile "has very rich relations with the United States." "After this trying time for the world passes, we're going to continue working (with the United States) in the different areas," she said. Chile, like Mexico, is currently a temporary member of the U.N.

Security Council and several Chilean and U.S. officials have recently suggested that Santiago's stance could jeopardize ratification of a recently concluded U.S.-Chilean free-trade agreement.

In Chile, President Ricardo Lagos's administration has been criticized in some circles for putting the trade agreement at risk, but also praised by others for not buckling to U.S. pressure on Iraq.

Both countries' legislatures must still ratify the pact and Lagos' critics claim that the U.S. Congress could vote it down as a retaliatory measure.

Alvear said Chile was holding intensive talks with other members of the Security Council on Monday, which she termed "a decisive day" after learning that weapons inspectors were told to leave Iraq.

She added that the final goal was to achieve the peaceful disarmament of Iraq. "The inspection process has produced results," Alvear said.