The Venezuelan Government reported that the president, Nicolás Maduro, will attend a meeting with his Guyanese counterpart, Iefaan Ali, who confirmed the meeting shortly after. The meeting will take place on Thursday, December 14 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is announced after conversations between Maduro and the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has expressed his concern about the dispute over the Essequibo region and its possible effects. regional. Da Silva, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and UN officials have mediated the organization of the talks.
First modification:
3 min
After weeks of uncertainty and diplomatic tensions between Venezuela and Guyana, both countries are opening up to dialogue. This is shown in an official statement published by the Venezuelan head of state on his social networks, where it was revealed that the decision to organize a meeting was taken after a proposal made by Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of San Vincent and the Grenadines, who also holds the presidency of CELAC.
“The proposal was received to hold a high-level meeting with Guyana (…) in order to preserve our aspiration to maintain Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace,” reads the Government statement.
Happy Saturday with Family Venezuela! I am activating the Bolivarian Peace Diplomacy to the maximum, always in defense of the historical rights of Venezuela. Once again we will defeat the lies, provocations and threats against our people. Our Country Will Win! pic.twitter.com/9RO1NLtY3u
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) December 9, 2023
The Venezuelan statement also mentioned the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, with whom Maduro held telephone conversations in recent days and with whom Venezuela highlighted his willingness to “promote efforts in favor of direct dialogue between the parties” in the dispute over the Essequibo.
Brazil expresses concern
The Brazilian president communicated his concerns to his Venezuelan counterpart, highlighting “the terms of the declaration on the issue (of Essequibo) approved on Thursday at the Mercosur Summit” and reminding him of “the long tradition of dialogue in Latin America,” according to a statement. of the Brazilian Presidency.
The measures referred to in the Brazilian text are those that were deliberated on December 7 during the Summit of Mercosur leaders, where the presidents of Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay and Brazil made a call to Caracas and Georgetown, the Guyanese capital, to avoid taking “unilateral actions” in relation to Essequibo.
Lula da Silva confirmed his support for the bilateral dialogue between Venezuela and Guyana, and was in favor of accompanying the negotiations and directing the situation towards a peaceful resolution, emphasizing the importance of “avoiding unilateral measures that lead to an escalation of the situation.” .
No statement from the United Nations Security Council
The tensions between Venezuela and Guyana, triggered after the unilateral referendum promoted by the Venezuelan Government on December 3, in which 95% of voters supported declaring Venezuela the legitimate owner of Essequibo, were part of the conversations held by the Council Security Council on December 8.
The space would have been granted after the Guyanese Foreign Minister, Hugh Hilton Todd, asked the organization to hold “an emergency meeting” after accusing Venezuela of violating the United Nations Charter and trying to take part of its territory, according to the American news agency AP.
Despite the agreement of the members of the United Nations executive body with the need to respect international law and the resolutions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on territorial claims, the diplomats would have avoided drafting a joint statement, since that they had to consult their positions with their governments, according to AP information.
After the discovery of new oil fields in Essequibo, the Venezuelan Government has intensified its territorial claims over the area, claiming that it was part of Venezuela during colonial times.
The ICJ, on December 1, ordered Venezuela not to alter Guyana’s territorial status quo while the dispute over the territory is resolved by the Court, whose mandate Venezuela refuses to recognize.
With Reuters, EFE and AP
#presidents #Venezuela #Guyana #highlevel #meeting #Essequibo