Washington, Dec 20 (IANS) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States will not allow relations with Colombia to deteriorate over individual political disputes, stressing the depth of bilateral ties.

“We’re not going to let the fact that that doesn’t exist now impact the relationships we have with the people of Colombia,” Rubio told reporters at his year-ender news conference.

He described the partnership as longstanding.

“This is a very important alliance, a very important strategic partnership which we’ve built up through a lot of hard work over decades,” Rubio said.

Rubio said disagreements should not derail cooperation.“We’re not going to let that fall apart because of one person,” he said.

He emphasised people-to-people ties.“It’s an important relationship, an important alliance,” Rubio said, citing commercial, cultural and security cooperation.

Rubio said Washington would remain engaged regardless of leadership changes.

“There’ll be elections, and we’ll work hopefully more cooperatively with whoever replaces the current president,” he said.

Colombia has long been one of Washington’s closest partners in Latin America, particularly on security and counter-narcotics cooperation.

Despite periodic political tensions, bilateral ties have remained anchored in trade, security assistance and regional stability efforts.

Earlier in September, Rubio noted during a press conference that while Colombia has historically been a strong partner, the current leadership has fallen short on certain issues.

“Unfortunately, they have a president now that, in addition to being erratic, has not been a very good partner when it comes to taking on the drug cartels,” he said.

He added that the military and police remain willing partners: “If it was up to the military, the police – we’ve been working with them for decades. It’s a great news story. But they have bad leadership right now, especially on this issue of drugs.”

He concluded with a note of cautious optimism, saying the country could improve its cooperation. “They can change. They can be more cooperative. And they can meet the criteria to get back on the list of certification,” Rubio said.

--IANS

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