TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, has warned he might close the U.S. embassy in his country. He issued that warning after he met with South America's leftist leaders who rallied to support him over the rerouting of his presidential plane from Russia on Tuesday, July 2, 2013.
Morales again blamed Washington for putting pressure on European countries to refuse to allow his plane to fly through their airspace on Tuesday, forcing it to land in Vienna. He called the incident a violation of international law.
"Being united will defeat American imperialism. We met with the leaders of my party and they asked us for several measures and if necessary, we will close the embassy of the United States," Morales said. "We do not need the embassy of the United States."
Morales made his announcement on Thursday, 4 July 2013, as the leaders of Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina and Uruguay joined him in Cochabamba, Bolivia, for a special meeting to address the diplomatic row.
At the end of the summit a statement was issued demanding answers from France, Portugal, Italy and Spain. The United States was not mentioned in the statement.
"Europe broke all the rules of the game," Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro said shortly after arriving at Cochabamba airport. "We're here to tell president Evo Morales that he can count on us. Whoever picks a fight with Bolivia, picks a fight with Venezuela."
GUARDIAN | JULI HANTORO