Dominican President lives statesman's dream at Latin American summit

Dominicantoday.com, Santo Domingo , March 10 th 2008

Dominican President Leonel Fernandez has long positioned himself as a statesman who rises above Latin America 's political divides.

As host of the Rio Group summit, he got a moment any diplomat would savor. Facing a roomful of presidents who traded accusations, threats and talk of war over Colombia 's attack on rebels inside Ecuador , Fernandez asked embittered leaders Alvaro Uribe, Rafael Correa and Venezuela 's Hugo Chavez to put aside their differences, shake hands.

Minutes later, to thunderous applause, they did. The timing for Fernandez was impeccable –just two months and nine days before the country's presidential election. A win would give him a third term.

As the newly reconciled Presidents left the meeting, Fernandez aides in a nearby truck raced to copy footage of the embracing Presidents for Dominican television stations.

«I have always said that he is a great mediator, a great statesman, and he showed that in spades today», a beaming Dominican Foreign Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso told reporters as he left the summit.

The Manhattan-raised Fernandez has close ties with the United States , the market for 80 percent of his country's products. He has implemented trade deals with Washington and visited President George W. Bush at the White House.

But Fernandez has also cultivated a strong relationship with Chavez , Washington 's chief antagonist in the Western Hemisphere, and participates enthusiastically in the Petrocaribe program under which Venezuela delivers oil to Latin American and Caribbean nations under preferential terms.

Fernandez gave Uribe several chances to speak at length after flurries of criticism throughout the day, and then quietly interrupted when Uribe cut off a speaker to contest a point.

Asking the Colombian leader to take Chavez's criticisms «in the best way», Fernandez spoke about peace, brotherhood and regional unity before ending with this plea: «What everybody here wants is an ending with a hug and a handshake between the presidents of Venezuela , Colombia and Ecuador .