Peru and Venezuela will restore ties at ambassador level for the normalization of diplomatic ties, Peruvian Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Garcia Belaunde said on Tuesday.

"We will exchange ambassadors. We have not yet reached an agreement on a date, but that's the next step. It will probably happen in no more than six months. I have to talk with the president (Alan Garcia)," Garcia Belaunde said at a press conference.

Both governments recalled their ambassadors last April after an insults exchange between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Garcia during Peru's presidential election campaign that Carcia finally won.

The two leaders, however, reached a reconciliation at the Dec. 8-9 Summit of the South American Community of Nations in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Garcia hailed the normalization and said he did not rule out a visit to Caracas or a visit to Lima by Chavez in the following months.

(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2006)