Uribe pledges closer ties with Venezuela, but Ecuador tensions remain

Colombian leader Alvaro Uribe pledged closer ties with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez on Saturday after months of on-and-off tensions, but Ecuador's leftist president said problems remain and he isn't ready to re-establish relations with Colombia.

Uribe said Colombia is accepting a proposal by Chavez to jointly build railroad lines between their countries, and is ready to sign accords on the trains when the two meet in Caracas on Friday.

"President Chavez has proposed it and we accept it," Uribe said during a televised town hall meeting. "We want to give a very big push to the entire agenda between our two countries."

It will be …