This Thursday, January 25, the foreign ministers of Venezuela and Guyana met in Brasilia, with the aim of reducing the growing tension over the dispute over the Essequibo territory. After the meeting, the two nations committed to continue the dialogues in a “peaceful” and “without threats” environment and, specifically, Venezuela urged to avoid “the intervention of foreign powers in the controversy.” As the talks progress, the cause It is still awaiting a ruling from the International Court of Justice, which could take several years.
After military threats, Guyana and Venezuela resume dialogue, peacefully, in their dispute over the territory of Essequibo, a jungle region of about 160,000 square kilometers and rich in oil, gold and diamonds.
“We installed the first Mixed Commission of Chancellors and Technicians between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Cooperative Republic of Guyana,” reported Yvan Gil, Venezuelan Foreign Minister, after the meeting he held with his Guyanese counterpart, Hugh Todd.
The purpose of the commission will be to address the points and guidelines established in the Argyle declaration, agreed in December in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. “On this occasion, we have reiterated the historical position of Venezuela, the message of peace of President Nicolás Maduro, as well as our firm resolution to respect the Geneva Agreement and international law,” Gil added.
In a joint statement at the Itamaraty Palace, headquarters of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, both ministers were “satisfied” with the result of the meeting.
Venezuela continues to support direct dialogue to resolve the Essequibo territorial controversy and preserve peace in our region. We thank once again CELAC and the support of Brazil and CARICOM for supporting this first meeting of the Joint Commission of… pic.twitter.com/ulmp6zhBCR
— Yvan Gil (@yvangil) January 24, 2024
The meeting was mediated by the head of Brazilian diplomacy, Mauro Vieira, and representatives of organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) and the Caribbean Community (Caricom).
Gil pointed out that his country emphasized the importance “to avoid the intervention of foreign powers in the controversy.” This, after the sending of a British warship to the coast of Guyana, as military and diplomatic support for the United Kingdom. This shipment was in response to a military exercise with more than 5,000 soldiers by Venezuela on the border between both nations and raised fears of an armed conflict in the region. US officials had also made several visits to Guyana and expressed support.
Gil reported that the need was also discussed “to examine Guyana's position and actions regarding the undelimited maritime area to ensure respect for the conditions agreed upon for decades” between the two countries.
The objective of the meeting, said Brazil, as the host country of the meeting and which also borders Guyana and Venezuela, was “consolidate the region as an area of peace, cooperation and solidarity.”
In that sense, the Guyanese foreign minister advocated “respect for international law” as a fundamental factor in the dialogue with Venezuela and supported the project to “revitalize the integration” of South America that Brazil is promoting.
“We are proud to be on this continent. We have a good history together. Guyana believes in international law, in resolving all issues peacefully,” said the Guyana minister.
Venezuela and Guyana claim the Essequibo region as theirs
Despite their willingness to dialogue, the two foreign ministers arrived with the firm stance of claiming the Essequibo region, rich in oil and under the jurisdiction of Guyana, as their own.
“I think that the fact of reactivating this direct dialogue (…) it is a success for diplomacy (…) because it removes any possibility of conflict beyond the territorial controversy we have,” said the Venezuelan foreign minister, according to AFP.
The measure is another step in the dialogues that began in December 2023, after the meeting of the presidents Nicolás Maduro, from Venezuela, and Irfaan Ali, from Guyana. At that meeting, both leaders agreed not to threaten each other or use force while negotiations take place.
Venezuela maintains that Essequibo, a region of 160,000 km2, It has been part of its territory since it was a colony of Spain, in the 19th century. But an 1899 ruling favored the then British colony of Guyana. Since then, Venezuela questions that decision and claims this region. And it has done so with greater vigor since 2015, when extensive oil reserves were discovered.
Venezuela even promoted a referendum, held on December 3, 2023, in which 95% of voters supported annex the Essequibo region to the map of Venezuela, as one more attempt at pressure.
What Venezuela is now seeking is to resume the 1966 agreement, signed in Geneva between Venezuela and the United Kingdom, -when Guyana was still a British colony-, which established the creation of a commission to resolve this controversy.
While Guyana defends the Essequibo as its own with the Paris Arbitration Award, 1899, a favorable ruling for the former British colony. Guyana, after the discovery of the oil deposits, began a process of exploration and subsequent exploitation of the resources, which bothered Venezuela, because the territory is still in dispute.
Dispute in the International Court
While the dialogues between both parties advance, the territorial dispute is also being processed before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
In March 2018, Guyana asked that court to initiate proceedings against Venezuela, asking it to confirm the legal and binding validity of the Paris arbitration award. Two years later, in December 2020, the court declared itself competent to consider Guyana's claim.
In December 2023, days before the referendum promoted by Maduro on the Essequibo was held, the ICJ ordered Venezuela to avoid any measure “that modifies the situation that currently prevails” in the disputed territory.
In addition, the judges of the Court, based in The Hague, ordered that both parties abstain “of any action that may aggravate or extend the controversy before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve.”
The International Court of Justice has noted that the case has merit, but that a final decision could take years.
With Reuters, AP, local media.
#Venezuela #Guyana #propose #maintaining #dialogue #Essequibo #threats