Mexico welcomes Venezuelan envoy naming

Mexico on Wednesday welcomed Venezuela's decision to reinstate an ambassador after two years of strained relations over free trade and the U.S.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced the appointment on Tuesday during a visit to Argentina, saying it was time for the countries to put their conflicts behind them.

In a statement released late Tuesday, Mexico's Foreign Relations Department said it received the announcement "with the greatest interest" and was reviewing the possibility of reinstating its own ambassador to Venezuela.

Since Mexican President Felipe Calderon took office on Dec. 1, "both governments have had a series of meetings ... with an eye toward normalizing bilateral relations," the department said.

Chavez said his decision to appoint an ambassador was a consequence of Mexico's outreach.

"We have heard the messages from Mexico, from President Calderon, from his Foreign Relations Department ... There is nothing left for us to do but to respond in kind," he said.

Relations between Mexico and Venezuela became increasingly prickly in 2005 as then-Mexican President Vicente Fox and Chavez traded a series of insults stemming from their disagreement over a U.S.-backed regional free-trade agreement.

At the time, Chavez called Fox a "puppy of the empire" because of his support for the so-called Free Trade Area of the Americas.

Relations between the two nations have been left at the level of lower-level diplomats.

"For President Chavez, this is a time to turn the page on previous conflicts," said a statement from the Venezuelan government.

"We love Mexico," Chavez said. "Mexico will always be necessary for us Latin Americans. Latin America would be absolutely incomplete without Mexico."