The government of Uruguay on Wednesday asked the Finnish paper company Metsä Botnia for a "gesture" that would help reach a solution to a dispute with Argentina on the construction of a pulp mill on the river that forms the border between the two countries.
Argentine opponents of the project have set up roadblocks on bridges crossing the Uruguay River, severely hampering cross-border traffic between the two countries.
According to the Uruguayan newspaper El Pais, representatives of Botnia had said that government representatives had contacted the company to propose a meeting aimed at a temporary halt to the construction work at the plant.
Uruguay's government believes that such a gesture from Botnia would persuade the environmental activists in Argentina to dismantle their roadblocks, which would ease the establishment of dialogue between the governments of the two countries.
The environmentalists met on Wednesday evening to decide on whether or not to dismantle the barricades.
A ship carrying construction material to the building site arrived at the harbour of the Uruguayan capital Montevideo on Wednesday. The ship, the Baltimar Sirius, brought goods whose transport by road had been blocked by the protesters.
Just over a week ago, activists of Greenpeace tried to prevent the ship from leaving the Chilean harbour of Talcahuano.
