Venezuela Plans High-Level Meeting with Guyana to Discuss Annexation
Venezuela agrees to meet with Guyana to discuss disputed Essequibo region and its oil reserves Positive step towards resolving tensions
Venezuela has agreed to a proposal for a high-level meeting with Guyana to discuss the status of the disputed and oil-rich Essequibo region, Caracas announced on Saturday.
According to a statement from Venezuela's Foreign Ministry, the country is pleased with the proposal and has accepted the call to meet. The official announcement of the meeting will be made in the "upcoming days."
The Guyanese government did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment. After a nationwide referendum last week, the Venezuelan government announced its intention to proceed with the annexation of the densely-forested Essequibo region, which comprises approximately two-thirds of Guyana's territory.
Venezuela has maintained a historical claim to the region, which Guyana has rejected. The current borders were established in a 1899 ruling by international arbitrators.
In an interview with CNN's Isa Soares earlier this week, President Irfaan Ali of Guyana stated that his country is taking diplomatic measures to engage international allies in response to Venezuela's attempt to seize its territory.
Amid a flurry of phone calls involving Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, the proposal for a meeting between the two governments emerged, as stated in the Venezuelan statement.
A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Caracas, Venezuela, during a referendum vote about the disputed Essequibo region on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023.
Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg/Getty Images
According to Venezuela's Foreign Ministry, Maduro also had a conversation with UN Secretary General António Guterres regarding the issue. The UN chief has pledged to support initiatives for direct dialogue between the parties. Guterres has stressed the importance of resolving the Essequibo stand-off through peaceful means and has called on both countries to engage with the International Court of Justice. On December 8, UN undersecretary for peacebuilding and political affairs, Rosemary Di Carlo, provided a briefing to the Security Council about the situation.
The International Court of Justice, headquartered in The Hague, made a decision last month that Venezuela must not alter the current situation in the disputed territory. The court has been examining the dispute since 2018 and plans to hold a trial in the spring, following unsuccessful negotiations between the two countries through the UN over several decades. However, Venezuela does not accept the court's authority on this matter.
Venezuela's foreign ministry announced that the anticipated meeting will occur "without interference from outside parties, in line with the agreement reached by both nations within the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States" - a regional organization currently led by St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Reporting contributed by CNNs Caitlin Hu in New York.
