MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile's Bachelet: Won't Be Pressured On UN Council Vote

President Michelle Bachelet said yesterday she will not be pressured on Chile's vote in the election of a new regional member of the United Nations Security Council.

Bachelet spoke a day after Chilean Defence Minister Vivianne Blanlot said she was asked by her US counterpart, Donald Rumsfeld, to support Guatemala over Venezuela in October UN election.

US officials hope to avoid giving a temporary Security Council seat to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a harsh critic of the US.

"Chile has had in the past, has now and will have in the future, an independent, autonomous foreign policy," Bachelet told reporters during a visit to a Santiago factory.

Blanlot said she told Rumsfeld that the subject is still being studied by the Chilean government.

In Caracas, Venezuelan Vice-President Jose Rangel criticized Rumsfeld for "dictating guidelines and behaviour to a nation like Chile."

Bachelet has said she will decide on Chile's vote "in due time" considering "Chile's best interest."

The UN vote appears to be growing into a complex political issue for Bachelet, with some members of her centre-left coalition supporting Venezuela, others backing Guatemala.

The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday reported it had reprimanded Chile's ambassador to Venezuela, Claudio Huepe, for his public support for Venezuela's candidacy.

Chile's Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley has suggested a third candidate should be sought to reach a regional consensus.

In related news, Chavez yesterday hailed Russia for defying a US arms blockade by agreeing to sell fighter aircraft to his country. Chavez will sign a billion-dollar deal to buy at least 24 Russian Sukhoi-30 jets to replace oil-rich Venezuela's US F-16s. Russia may also sell it 16 military helicopters.

"I would like to thank Russia, the producer of armaments, because Russia has helped to sever the blockade that was tied by the United States around Venezuela,"

"I am not an aggressor and have come not for weapons with which to fight against all and everyone," "It's simply that our army's weapons are already old and worn out and we want to exchange them for newer more reliable ones," he said in the city of Izhevsk in Russia.