UNASUR invites U.S. to discuss military agreement with Colombia

QUITO, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) invited the United States to discuss with the block the Colombia-U.S. military cooperation agreement, which allows the presence of U.S. troops in Colombia, the Ecuadorian government said Tuesday.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa who is holding the rotating presidency of UNASUR made the request to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Ecuadorian foreign ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry, the dialogue is aimed at "discussing issues of vital importance for the region."

At a ministerial meeting in November, UNASUR countries reached agreement to seek a dialogue with the U.S. to discuss the guarantees it will offer to the region regarding its military agreement with Colombia, which allows the presence of U.S. troops in the country to combat drug trafficking and terrorism.

The UNASUR countries are worried that the U.S. military presence in Colombia may be used to perform spying tasks against other nations.