国际英语新闻：Rio Group summit ends with declaration, accept apologies from Colombia

SANTO DOMINGO, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The 20th Rio Group Summit in the Dominican Republic concluded Friday with the approval of the Santo Domingo Declaration, accepting the apologies of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe for a cross-border attack on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

    The declaration allowed Uribe and his Ecuadorian counterpart Rafael Correa, who were involved in the conflict, to shake hands for peace and end the crisis that started Saturday.

    The Colombian president stated in the declaration his commitment on behalf of his country that it would not repeat these actions under any circumstances, but he denied violating Ecuador's territory.

    Correa said he would wait for Ecuadorian judicial officials to investigate eventual violations of Ecuador's national law after studying documents handed over by Uribe.

    The declaration also said the Colombian-Ecuadorian conflict was of deep concern for the Latin American region and reiterated a commitment to peaceful cooperation in the region and among others.

    The conflict started Saturday when Colombian military forces and police carried out a cross-border operation into Ecuadorian territory to attack a FARC base.

    Shortly after the raid, Ecuador broke off diplomatic relations with Colombia in protest. Venezuela, which also neighbors Colombia, announced the expulsion of Colombian ambassador Fernando Marin and several of his diplomatic staff. Ecuador and Venezuela even mobilized forces to the borders with Colombia.

    The Rio Group, which was established in 1986, is a regional bloc of South and Central American countries and is aimed at promoting political coordination and economic cooperation.