Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Saturday expressed his willingness to reset ties with Colombia, shortly after new Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was sworn in earlier in the day.

"I am ready to turn over the page completely and look to the future with hope," said Chavez in a speech broadcast live on state TV.

Chavez told a rally in west Venezuela that he also wanted to have a face-to-face meeting with Santos to discuss the diplomatic crisis between the two neighbors.

Chavez broke off relations with Colombia on July 22 in response to the latter's accusation that Venezuela was harboring Colombian guerilla chiefs on its soil. Caracas firmly rejected the charge.

The friendly offer from Chavez came several hours after Santos promised to restore ties with Venezuela in his inauguration speech.

However, Chavez warned that no reconciliation effort could work if the Santos government repeated the accusations against Venezuela.