Envoy Eases Neighbors' Tension.

• Author: Conaway, Janelle
• Position: Brief Article

VETERAN DIPLOMAT Luigi Einaudi, who was appointed as an OAS special representative to help reduce tensions between Honduras and Nicaragua, has been meeting with the two countries' foreign ministers to negotiate measures intended to avert military conflict.

Tensions arose between the Central American neighbors late last year when the Honduran Congress ratified a maritime delimitation treaty it had signed with Colombia. Nicaragua, which claims some of the areas in question in the Caribbean Sea, has since asked the International Court of Justice in the Hague to rule on the boundary issue. Einaudi described his role as helping develop mechanisms to prevent unintended clashes while the parties wait for a decision from the International Court.

Einaudi met with Foreign Minister Roberto Flores Bermudez of Honduras and his Nicaraguan counterpart, Eduardo Montealegre, in Miami in late December for the first direct talks on the matter. They agreed to several measures, including a freezing of border troops and posts at levels in effect last September 1. According to a joint communique issued at the close of their meeting, they also agreed to establish a military exclusion zone in the Caribbean Sea and to ensure the security of fishermen and communities in the border area, among other measures.

The foreign ministers held a second round of talks with Einaudi in January at OAS headquarters in Washington to begin working out details of the Miami accord. They were scheduled to meet again in El Salvador in February.

Einaudi's appointment came as the result of a resolution passed by the OAS Permanent Council, which held a special session on the matter in early December, at the...