OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza. OAS Photo

"I am not going to discuss this matter of expressions of President Chavez because I don't think that the insults carry anywhere," Jose Miguel Insulza said.

"I will not go into a trap of going into an insult match with the president of one of (the member) states," he added, speaking at a Washington think tank event.

Chavez called on Monday for the resignation of Insulza as the head of the OAS, after Insulza criticised a move to shut down a Venezuelan television channel. Chavez, who often takes strong verbal swipes at critics, referred to Insulza in highly insulting terms

Insulza is a former government minister from Chile, and the Chilean government on Tuesday chided Chavez for the comments. Relations between states and with international bodies should be conducted with "respectful and constructive language," Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley told reporters in Santiago.

Insulza last week expressed concern over the implications for media freedoms after the Venezuelan government decided not to renew the license of Radio Caracas Television, a private channel critical of Chavez that the government accuses of seeking to destabilise the country.

Chavez, re-elected in a landslide last month, attacked Insulza during a speech in which he sought increased powers from Congress and laid out plans for more nationalisations.