Bolivia favours resuming ties with US

Bolivia will resume "full" diplomatic relations with the US when there is certainty of non- interference in the country's internal matters, Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera has said.

"When we have certainty of the US' non-interference in our internal matters, our hand will be extended with respect but always strong to defend our sovereignty," Xinhua quoted Garcia Linera a saying Sunday at a press conference here.

Garcia Linera said since President Evo Morales took office in 2006, his government has always sought "good relations" with the US due to the respect they feel for the US people.

"Our people and our government are very respectful of the US people. We admire their scientific and technological progress, we are impressed by their great achievements but we have always asked for their governments for relations that respect our sovereignty," said Garcia Linera.

Meanwhile, Peter Brenhan, the Charge d'Affaires of the US Embassy in La Paz, said the US government pays "particular attention" to Bolivia's elections Sunday.

Bolivia is having a difficult diplomatic relation with the US. Since October 2008 the two sides have not had ambassadors, when President Morales expelled the US ambassador accusing him of supporting an alleged right-wing conspiracy against his government.

On Nov 7, 2011, La Paz and Washington signed a Framework Agreement aiming to fully restore bilateral relations.