The presidential office of public relations and the Colombian Foreign Ministry said that no communiqué had been issued on the armed conflicts in Iraq.

Days before the United States launched its first wave of air strikes on Baghdad on Wednesday night, Colombian Foreign Ministry officials made contradictory remarks on the Iraq crisis. Vice Foreign Minister of Multilateral Affairs Jaime Giron on Tuesday repeated support by the Colombian government for the United States on attacking Iraq, while Foreign Minister Carolina Barco called for more diplomatic efforts.

Colombia remains one of the few Latin American countries to back US military actions against Baghdad.

(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2003)