Leaders maintain tense talks after Venezuela organised referendum to assert oil-rich territory that makes up two-thirds of Guyana.
Venezuela and Guyana have agreed to not resort to pressure to settle a territorial dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo area after a tense assembly between the 2 international locations’ leaders within the Caribbean.
Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro agreed to “not threaten or use pressure in opposition to each other in any circumstances, together with these consequential to any present controversies between the 2 states” and to “chorus, whether or not by phrases or deeds, from escalating any battle,” in an 11-point declaration that was learn out at a press convention after the assembly.
The 2 males have been unable to make progress in resolving the long-running dispute over the territory, nonetheless, with a joint fee composed of the international ministers of each international locations and different officers requested to handle the difficulty and report inside three months.
No questions have been allowed on the press convention.
Essequibo quantities to greater than two-thirds of the territory of Guyana and is residence to 125,000 of its 800,000 residents.
Rigidity has been rising in current weeks after Venezuela held a referendum earlier this month on whether or not to ascertain a Venezuelan state there in a transfer Guyana feared was a pretext for a land seize.
Venezuela insists Essequibo ought to be underneath its management as a result of it was inside its borders in the course of the Spanish colonial interval whereas Guyana says a border drawn by worldwide arbitrators in 1899 means it’s a part of Guyana.
The hours-long assembly between Ali and Maduro occurred on the principal worldwide airport within the japanese Caribbean island of St Vincent following mediation efforts by the regional groupings of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Caribbean Group (CARICOM).
The declaration famous the deadlock between the 2 males, who clasped palms earlier than their talks.
Guyana argues the controversy ought to be resolved by the International Court of Justice within the Netherlands whereas Venezuela says the courtroom doesn’t have jurisdiction.
Earlier within the day, Guyana’s authorities issued an announcement saying that Essequibo was “not up for dialogue, negotiation or deliberation”. Ali echoed these feedback throughout a information convention he held throughout a break in his talks with Maduro.
“All of this belongs to Guyana,” Ali mentioned, pointing to a thick leather-based bracelet on his proper wrist that includes the define of Guyana. “No narrative propaganda [or] decree can change this. That is Guyana.”
Ali famous that whereas each events have been dedicated to maintaining peace within the area, Guyana “shouldn’t be the aggressor”.
“Guyana shouldn’t be looking for conflict, however Guyana reserves the correct to work with all of our companions to make sure the defence of our nation,” he mentioned.
Maduro mentioned forward of the assembly that “we’ll profit from it in order that our Latin America and the Caribbean stays a zone of peace”.
White Home Nationwide Safety Council spokesperson John Kirby mentioned that the US was monitoring the scenario carefully. “We don’t wish to see this come to blows,” Kirby mentioned. “There’s no motive for it to, and our diplomats are engaged in real-time.”
Maduro has ordered state-owned firms to discover and exploit the oil, fuel and mines in Essequibo. Each side have put their militaries on alert.