MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay revealed in Cordoba pulp mills dispute with Argentina

Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez underlined during the Mercosur summit the “fraternal and long standing links” between Uruguay and Argentina and said it was “senseless” to have third parties solving bilateral disputes.

Addressing the presidential meeting in Cordoba, Argentina, President Vazquez talked openly, almost candidly, about the ongoing dispute with Argentina over the construction of pulp mills in a shared waterway.

"Dialogue with our Argentine brothers has been, is and will always be present" said Vazquez adding that almost 400.000 Uruguayans live in Argentina.

"We're more than neighbours, we're brothers that love and respect each other, and we can't have third parties solving our disputes", said Vazquez in direct reference to the pulp mills under construction on the Uruguayan side of a shared river and which Argentina objects arguing they are an environmental hazard.

"It is the intention and task of the Uruguayan people, of its government and its president to find the paths for understanding so we can surmount those differences we have with our Argentine brothers", promised Vazquez.

The pulp mills case is currently before the International Court of The Hague which in its first ruling favoured Uruguay, saying there was no environmental objection to the pulp mills during the construction process. Argentina which was intent in having the works temporarily stopped must now wait for a ruling on the heart of the matter which is whether Uruguay violated the water resources management bilateral agreement of the shared river Uruguay.

Following the ruling Argentina promised to keep on with the pressure this time on the banking and multilateral institutions that have given or have promised credits to the private companies, from Finland and Spain, building the plants.

The Uruguayan president concluded quoting from the former Argentine-Cuban guerrilla leader Che Guevara saying that the "harshness of our fights must not weaken the tenderness of our hearts".

According to the Argentine press, Presidents Kirchner and Vazquez during the Friday morning protocol presentation before the beginning of the XXX summit talked for at least eight minutes, a sign described by the Uruguayan press as "encouraging".

After The Hague decision and in spite of insistent efforts, Uruguay's diplomacy had been unable to arrange a meeting between both presidents.