2023-12-15 09:46:33
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Venezuela and Guyana are at odds over Essequibo, a resource-rich territory under Guyanese administration and claimed by Caracas for decades.
Published on 15/12/2023 08:46
Reading time: 2 min Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro shake hands on December 14 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. (MARCELO GARCIA / VENEZUELAN PRESIDENCY / AFP)
Appeasement in sight. Guyana and Venezuela agreed on Thursday not to use “not to threaten or use force against each other under any circumstances” as part of their historic dispute over the territory of Essequibo, during the summit between their heads of state on Thursday December 14 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro also committed to a joint declaration to “refrain in words, in actions, from intensifying any conflict” between them.
This summit aimed to ease this tension over Essequibo, a territory rich in oil and natural resources, administered by Georgetown and claimed by Caracas. A new meeting will take place “within three months” in Brazil, according to the agreement decided on Thursday, in which an advisor to Brazilian President Lula participated.
The border dilemma
In the joint declaration, the two countries agree to resolve their dispute by “accordance with international law, including the Geneva Agreement”, which is the main Venezuelan demand. Venezuela maintains that the Essequibo River should be the natural border and believes that the Geneva Agreement signed in 1966, before Guyana’s independence, lays the foundation for a negotiated settlement that must continue.
Guyana believes that the border between the two countries dates from the English colonial era and that it was ratified in 1899 by a Court of Arbitration in Paris. It is this border which is in force. But, the declaration “notes that Guyana wishes to continue the ongoing proceedings before the International Court of Justice” (ICJ) of The Hague, the highest court of the UN, and “notes that Venezuela does not recognize its jurisdiction”.
“Guyana is not the aggressor, Guyana is not seeking war, but Guyana reserves the right to work with all partners to ensure the defense of our country.”
Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana
to the press
While Caracas has repeatedly accused Guyana of being under the orders of the United States and the oil company ExxonMobil, the Venezuelan president assured him of coming to this meeting “with a mandate from the Venezuelan people, with a word of dialogue, with a word of peace, but to defend our rights”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed the US position on Thursday that, “the land border between Venezuela and Guyana must be respected, unless or until the parties reach a new agreement, or a competent legal body decides otherwise”.
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