"The Finnish state is not involved in this project. It is up to Argentina and Uruguay and to the companies involved to find a solution," Finland's minister for foreign trade and development, Paula Lehtomaki, said.

Plans by the Finnish paper maker Botnia and Spain's Ence to build the paper mills on the banks of the Uruguay river, near the border wth Argentina, have caused an outcry.

Argentines fear the factories will pollute the environment in a region that lives off tourism and agriculture, and the country's government is trying to block their construction.

Uruguayans argue that the 1.8 billion-dollar (1.4 billion-euro) mills would cause little harm to the environment and revive the area's economy.

Lehtomaki is due to start a ten-day visit to Latin America on Monday scheduled to include Argentina, Chili, Peru and Uruguay. But the ministry said her planned stopped in Buenos Aires could be cancelled.

The situation in Argentina was being monitored to see whether it was "feasible" to proceed with the visit, which was planned "well before the controversy broke out", her adviser said.

Argentina has demanded a 90-day suspension of the paper mill project to conduct an environmental impact assessment.

Lethomaki is due to hold talks with her Latin American counterparts on trade relations, the state of negotiations at the World Trade Organisation and Finland's upcoming presidency of the European Union.

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