BRASILIA -- Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will meet his Ecuadorian counterpart Rafael Correa here Wednesday, in a bid to help resolve the crisis between Ecuador, Venezuela and Colombia.
"The president, like what he has always done, will try to facilitate reconciliation and find a peaceful solution to the crisis during his meeting with Rafael Correa," Lula's spokesman Marcelo Baumbach said Tuesday.
Tension between Colombia and its neighboring Ecuador and Venezuela has been escalating since Saturday when Colombian government forces killed 17 rebels on Ecuador's territory.
Ecuador, accusing Colombia of trespassing on its territory, cut diplomatic ties in protest, while Venezuela also withdrew its embassy staff in Colombia and sent troops and tanks to its border with Colombia.
Baumbach said Correa will arrive late Wednesday to meet Lula.
Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim at a press conference Monday said that Lula had talked by telephone with the presidents of Colombia, Ecuador and Argentina on the issue.
