National
Zapatero arrives in Peru for EU, Carribean and Latin American summit
By h.b.
May 16, 2008 - 7:14 AM

The Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, in his first foreign trip since his re-election, is attending the Fifth European Union, Carribean, and Latin American Summit in Peru.

He has already spoken about the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, for the first time since the famous argument between Chavez and King Juan Carlos, and Zapatero said that he wanted a relationship based on respect and collaboration, principles which he said should be the base of international relations. A actual meeting between the two leaders takes place later today.

In a first joint press conference with the President of Peru, Alán García, Zapatero was asked about Chavez and his recent comments against the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. Zapatero said that the harsh words used by the Venezuelan leader were ‘absolutely anecdotal’ and of little interest to the citizens who wanted their governors to dedicate themselves to the work of ‘progress and development’. Zapatero said the people should always demand respect from their governors.

Asked about the latest ETA attack in Spain, Zapatero said that the show of cross-party unity after the outrage was ‘an important step towards recovering consensus’. He said the wanted such a constructive attitude to be the norm in this parliamentary legislature.