MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay/Argentina on 48 hours ‘reflection period’ before retaking negotiations

Uruguayan Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro

Uruguay and Argentina agreed Wednesday on a 48 hours “reflection period” before retaking formal negotiations for the joint monitoring of the River Uruguay, which is at the heart of the pulp mills dispute, and alleged contamination, between the neighbouring countries.

Uruguayan Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro travelled early Wednesday to Buenos Aires where he met with his counterpart Hector Timerman to continue with another round of negotiations.

The meeting was very low profile, involving no more than six people and apparently the discussions remain stalled on details regarding the “scientific monitoring” inside the Botnia/UPM plant as the Argentine side is demanding.

During the lunch break Argentine minister Timerman through his Twitter said that the solution to the problem “means giving science the leading responsibility in the environmental control” and that the monitoring “must be done with no limits”.

Uruguay has basically accepted this principle and the guiding road map but believes the bilateral agenda involves more than a solution to the several years ongoing dispute over the construction of the pulp mill, which triggered pickets and an irritated bilateral relation.

At the last ministerial meeting at the beginning of July, during a “secret” negotiation session Uruguay presented its counter proposal to the original Argentine position.

“We are willing to an ample, total and absolute monitoring of all the river Uruguay, on both sides of the water course and with all the guarantees needed on both sides to ensure the protection of the environment”, said Timerman at the time.

It was later revealed that the Argentine side favours a two stage approach: an immediate involving monitoring water and air at the Botnia/UPM complex and then move on to organize the appropriate monitoring of the rest of the river Uruguay, which acts as a natural border and is straddled with industries and urban centres.

Almagro and Timerman must come up with an agreed monitoring plan to be presented to Presidents Jose Mujica and Cristina Kirchner.

On Tuesday Almagro had anticipated that “we are going to iron out some details still under discussion, but we expect to have documents ready and agreed not exactly this time. Technical issues remain but we need to give the situation a strong political advance so it speeds up the whole situation”.

Meantime the picketers’ organization also known as the Gualeguaychú assembly said they were waiting for the results of this bilateral meeting, because “if we don’t see advances in agreeing controls of the pulp mill and the correct decisions, we are ready to return to block the bridge”, said one of the activists leaders Jose Pouler.

“Let’s hope that the Foreign Affairs ministers meeting comes out with something nice and clear on time for its signature at the coming Mercosur summit, and the immediate beginning of monitoring activities”, added Poule.