MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Pte. Vazquez gets thumbs up from the opposition

The opposition in Uruguay yesterday backed President Tabaré Vazquez's strategy regarding a pulp mill conflict with Argentina but urged him to seek to resume talks with the neighbouring country regarding the high-profile spat.

Vazquez met with opposition leaders in Montevideo to discuss the tussle with Argentina over the construction of two pulp mills in the Uruguayan town of Fray Bentos. Argentina fears the mills will pollute the river area that divides the two countries.

"We are all in agreement with what the government has done and on the need to resume negotiations with Argentina," said former two-term president Julio Maria Sanguinetti of the Colorado Party.

Vazquez is scheduled to arrive on Thursday in the Argentine city of Cordoba to attend a presidential summit of the Mercosur South American trade bloc. Argentine environmentalists who oppose the construction of the mills in Fray Bentos will protest in Cordoba during his stay.

The World Court based in The Hague last week ruled against Argentina's plea for a halt to the plants construction while further environmental impact studies are conducted.

The UN court yesterday set the dates for the next stage of the trial, which will tackle the core Argentine argument that Uruguay violated a 1975 bilateral river agreement by authorizing the construction of the pulp mills.

Argentina, the court said, will have time until January 15 to present its case.

Uruguay will then be able to file its arguments until July 20, 2007. From that moment, the Court will come up with a verdict within three months.

A day after the World Court decision last week, President Néstor Kirchner urged the financial community not to fund the ongoing construction of the mills in Uruguay. In a statement read by Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernandez, Kirchner also expressed his confidence that the World Court would ultimately favour Argentina.

Uruguayan Foreign Minister Reinaldo Gargano said yesterday that his country would "never" ask international banks not to invest in Argentina. (BAH)