The presidents of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, and Guyana, Irfaan Ali, met on Thursday in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to discuss the dispute over Essequibo, an oil-rich region of about 160,000 km2. There, the leaders agreed to adhere to the following 11 points for both parties.

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With the participation of the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the President temporary From the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Ralph E. Gonsalves; Prime Minister of Dominica and Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Roosevelt Skerrit; Celso Amorim, special envoy of the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, joined the leaders in a conversation that sought to ease tensions between the two parties. The meeting was also attended by leaders of the Caribbean countries of the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

It was attended by the Chief of Staff of the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General, Earl Courtenay Rattray, and the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Miroslav Jinka, as observers. . .

The consultative referendum that Venezuela witnessed regarding the annexation of Essequibo prompted Maduro to announce that he would take administrative decisions to annex the territory, which led to an escalation of tension between the two parties. This situation has alarmed the United Nations, the International Court of Justice and Latin American leaders, and Lula was one of the people most concerned with ensuring that the conflict did not become more complicated.

What were the agreements?

The governments of Venezuela and Guyana agreed on 11 points, in which they “affirmed their commitment that Latin America and the Caribbean remain a zone of peace.”

The first point stipulates that neither party shall threaten the other party, or use force “under any circumstances.” In parallel, they agreed that “any dispute between the two countries will be resolved in accordance with international law, including the Geneva Convention of February 17, 1966,” an international treaty signed by the Venezuelan plenipotentiaries and the United Kingdom, which recognizes “that there is an outstanding territorial dispute.” Concerning Guayana Esquipa.

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Likewise, the two countries will refrain from “intensifying any conflict or disagreement” arising from the dispute and “will cooperate to avoid incidents on the ground that lead to tensions.” If something happens, it is established that the parties will have to communicate with each other, as well as with Caricom, Celak and the Brazilian President, in order to “contain it, reverse it and prevent it from happening again.”

The agreements also stipulate that the interlocutors at Thursday’s meeting will remain, even when they are forced to leave their positions as president. temporary and Silak in the case of Gonsalves, and as head of the Caribbean Community in the case of Skerrit. Likewise, UN Secretary-General António Guterres will continue as an observer.

Another important point relates to Guyana’s commitment to the “process and procedures of the International Court of Justice to resolve the border dispute.” In response, Venezuela confirmed its “disagreement and non-recognition” of the body and its jurisdiction in this case.

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In order to maintain a peaceful relationship, they agreed to “continue dialogue on any other outstanding issue of mutual interest” and “immediately establish a joint committee of the foreign ministers and technicians of the two countries” which would provide a solution to the problem. Update within three months in conjunction with the two leaders. The next meeting between the two leaders will be in Brazil for three months “to consider any issue that has repercussions on the disputed region.”

The leaders thanked those present at the meeting for their “role in making this meeting a success.” I appeal in particular to the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for facilitating the meeting.

After the meeting, Nicolas Maduro reiterated his gratitude to Irfaan Ali for his “candour and willingness to engage in a wide-ranging dialogue on all the issues that were directly addressed.” He stated that he was satisfied with the outcome of the meeting, and added: “Always [ha] Mode and [estará] In favor of a respectful dialogue to fulfill the sacred mandate of the Venezuelan people.

For his part, Irfan Ali thanked the technical team as well as government agencies, lawyers and national, regional and international diplomatic experts who supported Guyana at the meeting.

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