Uruguayan President José Mujica (R) and his Argentinian counterpart Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (L) as they approach to embrace in front of Buquebus owner Juan Carlos Lopez Mena (C), during the inauguration ceremony of a ferryboat which will link their countries in Buenos Aires on September 30.
Amid soaring tensions between Montevideo and Buenos Aires over the Botnia case, Uruguayan President José Mujica said he has been “politically cornered” by Argentina’s decision to take the environmental complaint to The Hague.
“I have been politically cornered with The Hague thing,” Mujica was reported to have said during a meeting yesterday’s night at his presidential residency. Socialist leader Enrique Rivero took part in the event and quoted Uruguay’s president in his official twitter account.
“The cutwater in my farm generates more phosphorus than UPM does,” Rivero added allegedly citing the Uruguayan head of state again.
Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman rapidly echoed Mujica’s statements saying the production of UPM-Kymmene –formerly known as Botnia- is “alarming”.
Montevideo yesterday authorized the Finnish company to increase its pulp mill production taking current 1.1 rates to 1.2 million tones and prompting strong reactions by the Cristina Fernández de Kirchner administration that confirmed it will be taking the so called Botnia case to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
buenosairesherald.com