Brazilian FM denies conflict with U.S. over security in Haiti

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim denied on Thursday any conflict with the United States over security control in Haiti.

"Raising questions about a Brazil-U.S. power struggle is petty," Amorim said.

The minister said last week that some Brazilian planes carrying supplies were having difficulties landing at the airport of Port-au-Prince, as air traffic there was controlled by the United States after the quake hit. He made a phone call to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss the matter.

Yet he later dismissed the incident as a misunderstanding; he believed such a problem was "natural" when flights from many countries are due to land at the airport shortly after the quake.

Amorim will fly to Haiti to examine the latest development, and then attend a conference in Montreal, Canada, to evaluate the post-quake situation in the Caribbean nation with representatives from other countries.

Brazil has been heading the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti (Minustah) since 2004 and has about 1,300 military personnel in the country. The congress will later decide whether to double the figure as proposed by Defense Minister Nelson Jobim.