Friday, February 09, 2001, updated at 14:08(GMT+8)
World
Argentina Withdraws Ambassador from Cuba
Argentina decided Thursday to withdraw "for indeterminate time" its ambassador to Cuba, which means a new rise of tension in their relations after Cuban President Fidel Castro criticized the South American country last week.
In a communique, the Argentine Foreign Ministry indicated the decision was "motivated by statements made by Cuba's president last week...as well as by expressions of Cuba's ambassador in Buenos Aires".
The remarks of Cuban ambassador Alejandro Gonzales Galiano, who on Wednesday gave a press conference to clarify Cuba's stance on bilateral relations, "ratify the state's insults toward the Argentine Republic", it noted.
Argentina and Cuba hardened on Wednesday their stances after an exchange of protest notes, as a result of Castro's statements regarding a possible Argentine vote against Cuba's human rights record in the United Nations' Human Rights Commission.
Argentina decided Thursday to withdraw "for indeterminate time" its ambassador to Cuba, which means a new rise of tension in their relations after Cuban President Fidel Castro criticized the South American country last week.