OAS tries to cool off Ecuador-Peru strife

Officials of the Organization of American States (OAS) are hopeful that last week's resolution on the Ecuador-Peru border conflict will not only keep the two nations from picking up arms again, but also keep the Andean economic pact from further unraveling.

Venezuela joins in both hopes. It is particularly eager to have the Andean Pact, of which it is a member, remain the economic bulwark of the area.

Noting that Chile already has already dropped out and that Bolivia is threatening to leave, hemisphere observers say that if either Ecuador or Peru do the same, the death knell would almos t certainly sound for the pact.