It also announced on Wednesday that it planned to review all of its ties with Spain, including economic agreements.

The measures were announced by foreign minister Juan Gabrielvald in a harshly worded response to the Spanish government's refusal to refer the case to arbitration to settle whether Chile had priority over Spain to try Pinochet in accordance with the international convention against torture.

Vald termed the stance taken by his Spanish counterpart Abel Matutes ``pathetic,'' and attributed it to a ``paternalistic and arrogant'' attitude. He demanded that the Spanish minister declare whether he would accept a decision handed down by the International Court of Justice in the Hague.

The diplomatic row with Madrid broke out when less than two weeks remain until the September 27 start of the London trial to decidewhether Pinochet -- under arrest in London since October 16, 1998 -- is to be extradited to Spain.

President Eduardo Frei may recall Chile's ambassador to Spain, Sergio Pizaro, said Vald who warned that all ties with that country would be reviewed, including bilateral economic accords.

Senator Jaime Gazmuri, a member of the Socialist Party (PS), described the government's reaction as ``disproportionate,'' and considered it ``absurd'' to suspend or break off relations with Spain, although he said it was normal for an ambassador to be recalled.

Ricardo Lagos of the PS, the centre-left ruling coalition's candidate for the December 12 presidential elections, also said the arrest of the former dictator was not a worthy cause of tension in Chile's relations with Spain.

Gazmuri said the agreement on investments and other bilateral accords should not be reviewed, warning that an escalation of the dispute with Spain over the Pinochet affair could hurt Chile's relations with the entire European Union.

Thelawmaker added that the elderly former dictator should not be allowed to become the crux of Chile's foreign policy. ``The country should not pay excessive costs for Pinochet, since it was his own fault that he went where he shouldn't have ventured,'' he said, alluding to the retired general's trip to London for back surgery and subsequent arrest.

The Chilean state ``should be very careful'' before turning to the International Court at the Hague. ``What will happen if we lose there? winning an international suit over Pinochet is very difficult,'' he added.

Gazmuri underlined that the Pinochet case was controversial even in Chile, and pointed to the bad international image of the former dictator and current lifelong senator, considered ``one of Latin America's most brutal dictators.''