Bolivia does not rule out selling natural gas to Chile, the foreign minister said on Friday, in a sign of warming relations that could end his country's policy of "not a molecule of gas" to Chile.
Landlocked Bolivia, one of South America's poorest countries, has not had full diplomatic relations for decades with its wealthy neighbour, over demands that Chile return sea territory it wrested from Bolivia in a 19th century war.
Anti-Chilean sentiment is so high in Bolivia that a plan to sell natural gas to Chile sparked a bloody uprising in October 2003, known as the "gas war," which left dozens of protesters dead and toppled the government.
"The possibility of selling gas to Chile is not ruled out," Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca told reporters after delegates from both countries finished two days of talks in an ongoing effort to improve relations under leftist leaders President Evo Morales of Bolivia and President Michelle Bachelet of Chile.
But natural gas sales are not part of current discussions, the minister said. Chile, which has few fossil fuel reserves, is desperate for alternative energy supplies because Argentina has cut its natural gas exports to Chile because of high demand at home.