Netherlands, Venezuela to boost cooperation following Chavez airspace complaint

Dutch, Venezuelan diplomats discuss differences

CARACAS, Venezuela — The foreign ministers of the Netherlands and Venezuela agreed to strengthen cooperation after President Hugo Chavez’s government protested what it called violations of its airspace by a Dutch military aircraft, authorities said Saturday.

Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen met with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, who called it a welcome opportunity to discuss “the differences we have and to be able to communicate more closely and build an agenda,” the Venezuelan government said in a statement.

The self-governing Dutch islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire lie off Venezuela’s coast, and Chavez’s government complained that a Dutch military aircraft violated its airspace three times earlier this month.

Chavez on Wednesday publicly questioned how long the Dutch islands off Venezuela’s coast will remain part of the Netherlands and said he believes they will one day be independent.

Verhagen was accompanied by the leaders of Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles for the talks Friday night.

A joint government statement released by Venezuela said the foreign ministers reaffirmed a commitment to “absolute respect of territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

It said they also agreed to study the possible construction of a natural-gas pipeline from Venezuela to Aruba, and expressed support for maintaining a cooperative relationship between Venezuela’s state oil company and oil refineries in Aruba and Curacao.