In an emotional speech to parliament, the left-leaning Venezuelan leader angrily
                 rejected criticism of his oil-rich country's foreign policy in the tense aftermath of
                 the Sept. 11 attacks against the United States.

                 Following these attacks, foreign and domestic opponents of the outspoken
                 paratrooper-turned-president have stepped up calls for him to reduce Venezuela's
                 ties with states blacklisted by Washington as "sponsors of terrorism."

                 But Chavez unreservedly defended these ties on Friday, hailing countries such as Iraq,
                 Libya, Iran and others as "brothers and partners" of Venezuela in the Organization
                 of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

                 "What is the problem?," he asked during a three-hour address to the National
                 Assembly in which he outlined his government's economic and social goals for the
                 coming years.

                 "For us, there is no problem," he said. "These countries are our partners and we
                 don't condemn any of them," he added.

                 Chavez denounced the Sept. 11 suicide attacks in New York and Washington as
                 "abominable." But he bluntly questioned the U.S. blacklisting of states such as Iraq
                 and Libya.

                 "Who has any conclusive proof that any of these states ... are really, really terrorist
                 states, to justify wiping them off the face of the earth?" he asked.

                 "I haven't seen any proof up to now. If there was any, then we would re-think our
                 relations," added.

                 He did not mention Afghanistan, whose Taliban rulers have been accused by the
                 United States of harboring Osama bin Laden, the Saudi-born fugitive identified by
                 Washington as the prime suspect in the hijackings.

                 Chavez scoffs at "terrorists' friend" charge

                 Since he took office in early 1999, the former paratroop officer has made a point of
                 broadening his government's foreign relations and shifting Venezuela away from a
                 traditionally close alliance with Washington.

                 Chavez ridiculed suggestions by critics that his ties with Iraq and Libya put him on
                 the side of countries viewed as enemies by the U.S. government, which is now
                 seeking to build an international coalition against terrorism.

                 He scoffed at his opponents' arguments. "So if Chavez is a friend of this country,
                 and a partner of that one, which is the same as the other, then Chavez ends up
                 being a terrorist too ... Osama bin Chaven!" he joked.

                 He said his country had a sovereign, independent foreign policy which sought good
                 ties with all nations of the world.

                 "We have a good relationship with the United States and we will carry on having it,"
                 he added. Venezuela is one of the top three world suppliers of crude oil to the U.S.
                 market.

                 But Chavez insisted his government could not give "a blank check" of support for a
                 retaliatory U.S. military strike against the suspected culprits.

                 The Venezuelan leader, who won a landslide election in 1998 after failing to take
                 power in a coup bid six years earlier, said the real causes of violence and conflict in
                 the world were inequality, poverty and hunger affecting millions of people.

                 "We can't just restrict ourselves to condemning, chasing and punishing the
                 terrorists ... Let's look at the causes."

                    Copyright 2001 Reuters.