South American officials fail to reach arms deal

QUITO (Reuters) - South American defense officials failed on Tuesday to reach a deal to defuse tensions in the region over a U.S. military pact with Colombia and a plan by Venezuela to buy $2 billion in Russian weapons.

The UNASUR group of nations called for transparency in defense deals to quell mistrust between Colombia's conservative government and its socialist neighbors in the Andean region.

But Tuesday's meeting in Quito yielded no agreement.

"Unfortunately, we did not arrive at any resolutions," Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca told reporters.

"We regret the attitude of Colombia, the intransigence of Colombia, which does not want to make transparent its pact concerning military bases," he added.

Colombia says its deal with Washington, under which U.S. forces will have access to up to seven Colombian military bases and air, is aimed at helping both countries fight drug trafficking. But leftist governments in the region say the deal threatens regional security.

Colombia's Defense Minister Gabriel Silva said no deal was reached on Tuesday due to a lack of cooperation on arms proliferation, anti-narcotics measures and the presence of "terrorist" groups in the region.

Colombia complains its neighbors are not doing enough to help it combat a 45-year-old Marxist insurgency.

Venezuela said it would share information about its weapons purchases, but accused Colombia of secrecy in its dealings with Washington. "We have seen neither the bold nor the fine print of the accord and of course this generates worries," Venezuelan Vice President Ramon Carrizalez told reporters at the meeting.

CROSS-BORDER ATTACK

Ecuador cut diplomatic ties with Colombia last year after President Alvaro Uribe, Washington's main South American ally, ordered the bombing of a Colombian rebel camp on Ecuador's side of the border.

The United States has provided more than $6 billion in mostly military and anti-narcotics aid to Colombia over the last nine years and the two countries plan to deepen their cooperation with an expanded security agreement that has sent political shock waves through the region.

Ecuadorian leader Rafael Correa says any more cross-border raids by Colombia will be met with a military response.

In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced U.S. concern that Venezuela's plan to buy more Russian weapons, including tanks and anti-aircraft missiles, could set off an arms race in the region.

"We have expressed concerned about the number of Venezuelan arms purchases. They outpace all other countries in South America and certainly raise questions as to whether there is going to be an arms race in the region," she said at a press conference with visiting Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez.

Tabare Vazquez said the arms race had already begun and was using up scarce resources in a region of widespread poverty.

Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, a fierce critic of U.S. foreign policy, says the expanded U.S.-Colombian military pact could set the stage for an attack on his country.

In recent years, Venezuela has bought over $4 billion in weapons from Russia, including 24 Sukhoi fighter jets.

On Sunday, Chavez said he was buying an advanced S-300 missile defense system and 92 tanks with a $2.2 billion credit from Moscow.

Brazil is planning a similar deal with France, while Ecuador and Chile recently beefed up their air forces with new equipment. Bolivia is planning to buy new combat planes and helicopters from France and Russia.

(Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra and Alexandra Valencia, writing by Hugh Bronstein; editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Todd Eastham)