The Iranian ambassador to Bolivia retracted a controversial statement after being summoned by the foreign minister.

The Bolivian Foreign Minister, Fernando Aramayo, and the Iranian Ambassador to La Paz, Bahram Shahabeddin. The Iranian Ambassador to Bolivia, Bahram Shahabeddin, retracted a statement in which he referred to the country's legal framework during a visit to Cochabamba. During a meeting with local media, the diplomat expressed his desire for the city to become the new capital of Bolivia. His statements provoked criticism and a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which called on the diplomatic corps "not to interfere" in internal affairs and urged them to channel their expressions through formal diplomatic mechanisms provided for in the Vienna Convention, avoiding the use of public platforms to express complaints or positions. Subsequently, Shahabeddin met with Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo in La Paz and clarified that his words "were not expressed in the best way." In a public statement, the diplomat stated that he intended to refer to Cochabamba as the "cultural and gastronomic capital" of Bolivia, "in a sense of appreciation" for that region. View of the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Murillo Square, La Paz. "My words, expressed in a tone of courtesy and cultural recognition, were not expressed in the best way and unfortunately caused discomfort in some sectors of the Bolivian people," he admitted in the document, and declared his "commitment to the fundamental principles of law and international relations, including respect for national sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs." The debate about the capital in Bolivia is a historically sensitive issue that dates back to the War of the Federation in 1899. Since then, the seat of government has been La Paz, and the constitutional capital is Sucre, and any allusion to changing this arrangement tends to reactivate disputes over representation and territorial power. In this context, the statements of the Iranian diplomat generated a strong reaction, especially among political actors in Sucre. Foreign Minister Aramayo also summoned the Russian Ambassador, Dmitry Verchenko, to discuss "the importance of maintaining institutional communication channels and procedures that govern diplomatic relations," according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Leonardo Loza (right), along with the Iranian Ambassador (center) and the Russian Ambassador (left), during his inauguration as governor of Cochabamba this Monday. The statement notes that during the meeting with the Russian ambassador, they discussed "the need to preserve mutual respect and channel any differences through the established protocols" to avoid "isolated situations affecting the harmony and cooperation between the two nations." The summons to both officials comes after they attended the inauguration of the new governor of Cochabamba, Leonardo Loza, a coca grower leader who is one of the main allies of the former leftist president Evo Morales (2006-2019) and the only one of his political line who holds a relevant public position. These meetings take place at a time of change in Bolivian foreign policy. The government of Rodrigo Paz, who was sworn in six months ago, made a shift in the country's diplomatic relations by approaching countries with which it had no relations—such as the United States and Israel—and distanced itself from the allies of the regime of the Movement to Socialism (MAS), such as Iran, with which it suspended cooperation agreements in military matters.