(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-07 14:44

MEXICO CITY - Mexico has restored its relations of respect and dialogue with Cuba and Venezuela, Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Relations Patricia Espinosa said Thursday.

Mexico's Foreign Relations Secretary Patricia Espinosa looks on during a press conference at the Mexican Embassy in Beijing, Nov, 23, 2007. [Agencies]

She said his country has strengthened rapprochement with Cuba, and that she and her Cuban counterpart Felipe Perez Roque are interested in making mutual visits.

Mexican-Venezuelan relations have also witnessed improvement thanks to a "continued and constant dialogue" between the Mexican Foreign Ministry and Venezuelan ambassador to Mexico Roy Chaderton, Espinosa added.

She said Mexican Vice Foreign Minister for Latin America and the Caribbean Geronimo Gutierrez met with Chaderton this week and voiced his satisfaction for the current Mexican-Venezuelan ties.

"The best way to maintain a respectful relation based on rules of international law is precisely through these dialogue and consultation mechanisms," Gutierrez told Chaderton.

Relations between Mexico and Cuba soured in 2002 when Mexico backed a UN human rights resolution against Cuba.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon said in March that his government, with enough discretion, would try to restore its ties with Cuba. He also expressed his interest in visiting Cuba for a meeting with Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

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