By: Staff Writer
December 12, 2023
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will meet with Guyana’s president, Dr Irfaan Ali, this coming Thursday to discuss ways to avoid Venezuela forcibly annexing the Essequibo region from Guyana.
Less than two weeks after the successful referendum held in Venezuela asking its residents if the Essequibo region, which is currently within Guyana’s territorial domain, be annexed and made a separate state for Venezuela, both Mr Maduro and Dr Ali will meet fact to face in the St Vincent and the Grenadines at the request of SVG’s Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves.
In a letter to the Vincentian Prime Dr Minister Ralph Gonsalves, Mr. Maduro said he hopes the high-level meeting will address the “main threats to the peace and stability” of the countries.
“Prime Minister and friend, I am fully committed to this dialogue that today calls us to reestablish the fundamental principles of peaceful coexistence between our countries…” Maduro said.
But President Ali has made it clear that the border controversy will not be discussed at this meeting. He has consistently said he is willing to engage his Venezuelan counterpart on any shared matter but not the controversy since that is squarely before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). At that court, Guyana seeks a final, binding settlement of the controversy, reaffirming that the 1899 Arbitral Award established the boundary between itself and Venezuela. In simple terms, Guyana wants the Court to determine, once and for all, that the Essequibo region is its own.
According to President Ali, his decision to participate in the meeting was made following a series of consultations with stakeholders, Guyana’s technical team, agents, lawyers and the Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton.
Tension has soared over Essequibo, which has historically been controlled by Guyana, since Maduro’s government held a controversial referendum last weekend in which 95 percent of voters supported declaring Venezuela its rightful owner, according to official results.
The United States, Britain, Russia and South American countries have all urged de-escalation and a peaceful solution.
The United Nations Security Council held a closed-door meeting Friday on the spiraling dispute, which is also the subject of litigation before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The decades-old dispute with Venezuela intensified after ExxonMobil discovered oil in Essequibo in 2015, helping give Guyana — population 800,000 — the world’s biggest crude reserves per capita.