Pérez Yoma: Peruvian lawsuit is aggravating situation with Bolivia

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SANTIAGO. -  Minister of Interior Edmundo Pérez Yoma said today that the lawsuit being filed by Peru at the International Court of Justice at The Hague concerning a maritime boundary dispute with Chile is complicating efforts to reach a solution in the Bolivian maritime access suit.

“We cannot consider the issue with Bolivia to be uniquely a matter of ocean.  That is a mistake.  Indeed, the Peruvian lawsuit, as unfair and unfounded as it is, is making things worse and any solution that we may wish to offer the Bolivian people seems to be quite hindered by this”, Peréz Yoma asserted while speaking on Radio Cooperativa. 

The statement made by the minister of Interior, who is currently serving as Vice-President of the Republic due to President Michelle Bachelet´s trip to London, alluded to the suit filed by Peru at the International Court of Justice in January.

Chile maintains that no border dispute exists with the neighboring country, given treaties signed in 1952 and 1954, which are unrecognized by Peru.

Meanwhile, Bolivia continues to pursue an age-old suit aimed at regaining access to the sea.