Chavez makes peace with King Juan Carlos
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Spain's King Juan Carlos and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez patched up their differences in their first meeting since the Spanish monarch told the Venezuelan leader to "shut up" at a summit last year.
The King shook hands and patted Mr Chavez's arm when the Venezuelan president arrived at the Marivent Palace, the King's summer residence in the Balearic island of Majorca in the Mediterranean.
The light-hearted exchange drew a line under the brief diplomatic spat in November last year when the King told Mr Chavez, "Why don't you shut up," during the Ibero-American summit in Santiago, Chile.
Mr Chavez had repeatedly interrupted Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero during a speech and called former conservative Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar a "fascist."
The King's outburst became a catchphrase in the Spanish-speaking world, appearing on t-shirts and being turned into a mobile phone ringtone that was downloaded by millions of people.
At a joint press conference with Mr Zapatero in Madrid, Mr Chavez said he had jokingly told the King that he owed him some money but King Juan Carlos had not taken out a copyright on the phrase.
"We caused a furore with this event, it will remain as a good memory, something that we will laugh about for the rest of our lives every time we see each other," he said, adding the King had given him a t-shirt with the famous phrase.
Mr Chavez said he had invited the King and Mr Zapatero to visit Venezuela, a former Spanish colony, next year.
He had accused the King of arrogance in the days after the outburst and he threatened to review the business of all Spanish companies in Venezuela unless the monarch issued an apology.
The strained ties between Madrid and Caracas began to ease after Mr Zapatero invited Mr Chavez to visit Spain when the two leaders met on the sidelines of a summit of European Union and Latin American leaders held in May in Peru.
"This was a very positive meeting, I am very pleased with what is going on today between Venezuela and Spain," said Mr Zapatero after holding talks for about 40 minutes with Mr Chavez.
The two men discussed immigration and the possibility of holding of a business forum between Spanish and Venezuelan firms during their talks, Mr Zapatero said.
His visit to Spain was the last stop of a tour of Europe that has already taken in Russia, Belarus and Portugal.
-AFP
