U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held warm talks with Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa, paving the way to drive a wedge between him and Venezuela's anti-American firebrand Hugo Chavez.

In a joint press conference, Clinton vowed to build on their partnership based on mutual respect, while Correa expressed his love for the United States and said the new left he represents is not anti-American.

"Like any two countries, we will not always agree," the chief US diplomat said after some three hours of talks and lunch at the presidential palace in this high-altitude Andean capital surrounded by mist-shrouded green hilltops.

"But we are committed to a partnership of open dialogue and cooperation that is rooted in mutual respect and mutual interest and for the benefit of both of our peoples."

She pointed to a "very important relationship" that covers a broad range of issues, including trade, investment security and a commitment to the environment.
Clinton also sought to reassure Ecuador that the US military's use of bases in neighboring Colombia was designed only to help the South American country fight domestic problems like the FARC insurgency and drug trafficking gangs.

Ecuadorans fear the move will be used to extend US power, including through espionage activities.

Correa also acknowledged disagreements with the United States, but said his meeting with the top US diplomat had been "very productive" and expressed admiration for both Clinton and her husband Bill, the former president.

He noted that both countries agree on the need to fight drug trafficking and deal with migration concerns between Latin America and the United States.

Correa vowed that leftist countries like Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela will stand up for their sovereign rights and "will not bow down" to American power.

"However, we (Ecuadorans) are not anti-American. We love the US very much. It is a trade partner. In fact, I spent the happiest four years of my life with my family in that great country," he said.

"The new left that I represent is not anti-anything... We are not anti-capitalist, we are not anti-American, although I am anti-imperialist.

"We are pro-sovereignty, pro-social justice, pro the good life of our people...and in the framework of mutual respect, we will always have a good relationship," he added.

Analyst Christopher Sabatini of the Americas Society and Council of the Americas said Correa was more pragmatic than Chavez, even though Ecuador is a member of the ALBA bloc.

The movement was founded in 2004 by Venezuela and Cuba as a counterweight to the Free Trade Area of the Americas that Washington and several Latin American nations were proposing at the time.

Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and Venezuela are members of the so-called Bolivarian leftist alliance.

Sabatini said Clinton was not so much seeking to woo Ecuador away from ALBA but to "allow for more space for countries to go their own way and collaborate in one way with the United States and pursue a more neutral stance.

"There are points of collaboration with some of these (ALBA) countries. Not all of them, despite Mr Chavez's attempts, are as hardline, Bolivarian or knee-jerk anti-American as he wants people to believe."

Following her talks in Quito, Clinton flew to Bogota, her third stop on a four-country tour that began Sunday in Peru. She completes her visit in Barbados on Thursday.

Credit: By Lachlan Carmichael, American Press Federation; photo caption: Hilary Clinton and President Correa at the Presidential Palace in Quito, on Tuesday.