Peruvian Leader Upbeat on Ecuador

Peru’s president, Alberto Fujimori, said he hoped a peace accord with Ecuador could be signed next month to end a half-century border conflict marked by shooting wars. On a whirlwind round of South American diplomacy, Fujimori sounded upbeat about defusing tensions that flared this week when Peru accused 300 Ecuadorean troops of entering its territory in a “clear provocation.” At the time, Ecuador insisted that its troops were not in Peruvian territory, and Peru refused to continue internationally brokered talks that had appeared close to resolving the dispute. But Fujimori told a news conference in Buenos Aires that it was “realistic to think that a final accord could be signed in September.”