The foreign ministers of Venezuela and Guyana spoke by telephone on Wednesday, the Venezuelan ministry announced in a press release, as tension between the two neighbors over the Essequibo, the disputed region between the two countries, increased. a notch.
“At the request of the Guyanese side, (Guyanese) Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd had a telephone conversation with Minister of Foreign Affairs Yvan Gil to discuss the issue of the territorial dispute,” says the document, which assures that the two countries will “keep communication channels open”.
“The Venezuelan side expressed the need to cease actions that aggravate the dispute,” the text adds.
On Tuesday, tension rose a notch with the announcements from the presidents of the two countries.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has called for the creation of a special military zone near the border and ordered the state-owned giant PDVSA to grant oil and gas exploitation licenses in the Essequibo region, under Guyanese administration.
He proposed that the country adopt a special law prohibiting the signing of contracts with companies working in the sector under concessions granted by Guyana. Mr. Maduro recommends a period of three months given to these companies to withdraw from the zone “to be demarcated”, while nevertheless saying he is “open to discussion”.
The Guyanese president responded in the evening during an exceptional address to the nation.
“This is a direct threat to the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Guyana… Guyana considers this an imminent threat… will intensify precautionary measures to safeguard its territory,” he said.
“I spoke this evening to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and several leaders to alert them to this dangerous development and the desperate actions of President Maduro which jeopardize international law and constitute a significant risk to international peace and security “, he added, accusing Venezuela of being an “outlaw nation”.
On the international level, Beijing, an ally of Caracas, asked the two countries to resolve their dispute “in a correct manner”. Beijing “has always supported Venezuela and Guyana to correctly resolve issues relating to border demarcations”, according to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This exchange comes as Venezuela held a referendum on Essequibo on Sunday. According to official figures – disputed by many observers – some 10.4 million Venezuelan voters took part in the vote and 95% said they were in favor of integrating the area into their country.
2023-12-06 18:42:46
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