Santos: Territorial ruling unacceptable

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos says his government emphatically rejects the International Court of Justice's decision to declare Colombian sovereignty over a Caribbean archipelago off Nicaragua's coast but deny it control over waters that connect some of the islands.

Santos said Monday's decision is correct in rejecting Nicaragua's claim to the San Andres and Providencia islands and their surrounding cays. But he said Colombia cannot accept "omissions, errors, excesses and inconsistencies" in the decision that separate four cays from the main islands.

He says it will hurt fishermen.

Santos announced that he would fly to San Andres immediately.

He added that he does no rule out any measure or mechanism to defend Colombia's rights under international law.

The court's decision is binding and final.

- AP