POPE JOHN PAUL II has called for renewed efforts by Chile and Argentina to resolve their longstanding border dispute in the Beagle Channel region.
Meeting at the Vatican on April 23 with delegations appointed by the two countries to settle the issue through the Church's mediation, the Pope recommended as a basis for further discussion the proposals he 'had made in December 1980.
The dispute concerns a strategic waterway at the tip of both South American countries.
The meeting included Cardinal Antonio Samore, who is the Pope's representative in the mediation, Five Argentina and 10 Chilean members of the negotiation teams and other Vatican persomici.
The Pope asked the delegations to begin a "conclusive phase" in their talks, with a dialogue "exhaustive and serene", using as a starting point his own proposals and developing from them an agreement acceptable to both parties.
The Pope urged that the final reality "exclude in a specific manner recourse to force or to the threat to use force."
He suggested that the negotiations involve the highest government authorities rather than subordinate groups and urged that during the dialogue the countries "refrain from using means which could alter the harmony in any section of their mutual relations."