Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo on Tuesday urged his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez to change his mind of withdrawing his country from the Andean Community of Nations (CAN).

Toledo said he would try to tackle the topic at the summit of European, Caribbean and Latin American nations, which runs from May 11 to May 13 in the Austrian capital of Vienna.

"We are sure to meet and I will greet him with all the dignity that a head of state deserves. And, if he will listen, I will tell him that there is still time to correct his decision to withdraw his country from the CAN," Toledo said.

Venezuela announced its decision to leave the trade bloc two weeks ago, saying that the CAN was "mortally wounded" due to two free trade agreements signed by Peru and Colombia with the United States, even though they remain to be ratified.

The CAN nations -- Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and, for the moment, Venezuela -- hoped to begin trade talks with the European Union at the Vienna summit.

Source: Xinhua