Argentina’s Deputy Foreign Minister Victorio Taccetti did not rule out the possibility of Brazil integrating the joint environmental monitoring of the River Uruguay currently being arranged by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her Uruguayan counterpart José Mujica.
Pressure is mounting in Argentina for pickets blocking an international bridge leading to Uruguay to be ordered removed by a court order, following Wednesday’ presidential summit when Uruguay’s Jose Mujica and Argentina’s Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner agreed on a joint agenda of pending issues.
Uruguayan president Jose Mujica will meet with Argentina’s Cristina Fernández de Kirchner next June 2nd at the Uruguayan presidential farm in Anchorena, a 15 minutes helicopter ride from Buenos Aires, announced Wednesday Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro.
Uruguay and Argentine presidents will be meeting Wednesday in Buenos Aires to analyze the aftermath of the International Court of Justice judgement on the pulp mills controversy and hopefully find a way, to peacefully lift Argentine protestors’ pickets that have been blocking since 2006 a bridge linking the neighbouring countries.
Angry protestors from Argentina marched Sunday on to the bridge linking with Uruguay to express their disenchantment with the recent international court judgement on the pulp mill dispute, which confirmed the mill does not pollute and there’s no sufficient evidence for re-location or damages’ compensation as demanded by Argentine environmentalists.
Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana called on Gualeguaychú activists that keep international San Martín bridge blocked for more than three years to “reconsider their ways of action, mostly after the International Court of Justice ruling”.
“There are no miracles; we feel cool about the decision”, said Uruguayan president Jose Mujica following the International Court of Justice ruling which means there will be no relocation of the Orion pulp mill which besides does not contaminate, as was claimed by Argentina when it presented its case back in 2006.
In its judgement on ”Pulp mills on the River Uruguay (Argentina vs. Uruguay)”, the International Court of Justice, (UN principal judicial organ) declared that Uruguay has not breached its substantive obligations for the protection of the environment provided by the Statute of the River Uruguay by authorizing the construction and commissioning of the Orion (Botnia) pulp mill.
Much as was anticipated, Uruguay and Argentina celebrated as favourable the ruling of the International court of Justice regarding a long standing pulp mills dispute, while environmentalists were totally disappointed and promised to continue and intensify their protests and pickets.