Argentina rejects Uruguayan proposal on disputed pulp mills
Argentina rejected a proposal made by Uruguay that the two countries jointly monitor two controversial pulp mills being built on the River Uruguay, which forms the nations' shared border, local media said on Thursday.

Uruguay's Foreign Minister Reynaldo Gargano told reporters he made the proposal, which he described as an "open and generous" gesture, at a meeting with his Argentine counterpart Jorge Taiana,in Cordoba, the provincial capital of Cordoba, 646 km northeast of Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital.

Taiana, however, said that the proposal did not resolve the core problem.

Argentina has taken the case to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. In a most recent ruling, the court rejected an Argentine request to halt the construction of the two mills. The case is not yet closed.

The disputed two giant paper plants are run by Spain's Ence and Finland's Botnia. With a total investment of 1.8 billion U.S. dollars, they represent the largest single direct-foreign-investment project in Uruguayan history.

Uruguayan officials have said several times that the real cause of the controversy is that Argentina wants the investment.

The issue will not be dealt with at the 30th summit of the Common Market of the South, which begins on Friday in Cordoba.