Spain says asks Venezuela for explanation on ETA

MADRID, March 1 (Reuters) - Spain has asked Venezuela to explain itself after a Spanish judge accused the government of President Hugo Chavez of facilitating cooperation between Basque rebels ETA and Colombia's outlawed FARC, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said on Monday.

"I can confirm that the foreign minister has made the appropriate contact with the Venezuelan government to request an explanation and we are waiting for that explanation, and the Spanish government will act in accordance with that explanation," Zapatero told a news conference in Hanover, Germany, after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

(Reporting by Jason Webb and Inmaculada Sanz)