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CARACAS, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The aviation conflict
between Venezuela and the United States was based on security, not politics, and
it was on the right path to a satisfactory resolution, said U.S. ambassador
William Brownfield on Tuesday.
Negotiations "between the aeronautical experts from
the U.S. and Venezuela are going in the right direction for a satisfactory
resolution for both governments and both nations," he said.
Brownfield complained that a minority, both in the
U.S. and Venezuela, had sought to drag politics into the conflict which is
mostly about technical matters, adding that the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA)
was prepared to leave a group of technicians in the country as proof that it was
willing to resolve the problem quickly.
The latest U.S.-Venezuelan air row erupted after
Venezuela threatened to ban flights by U.S. airlines on its territory from this
Thursday.
Venezuela's National Civil Aviation Institute (INAC)
said the measure was taken in response to FAA's decision to continue
restrictions Venezuela airlines' flights to the U.S. despite a 2004
International Civil Aviation Organization report saying that the nations had
restructured and modernized its airlines and the process
The FAA banned commercial jets registered in
Venezuela 10 years ago due to violations of safety procedures, forcing the
country's airlines to charters aircraft and staff from approved airlines for
U.S. flights.
Officials from the FAA and INAC began talks on Monday
to resolve the dispute. INAC said it had not yet decided if it would carry out
its threat to restrict flights by Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines and
American Airlines. Enditem |