SAO PAULO, Dec 9 (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro will meet with Guyana President Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Thursday amid a territorial dispute between the 2 international locations, based on a letter from the prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
The announcement of the bilateral assembly got here after Maduro spoke with Ralph Gonsalves, the prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, who additionally serves as president professional tempore of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and U.N. Secretary-Basic Antonio Guterres on Saturday.
Tensions have been mounting in current weeks between Venezuela and Guyana as a consequence of a long-running border dispute over Esequibo, an space in Guyana the place huge discoveries of offshore oil and fuel have been made.
Venezuela’s authorities mentioned the assembly “is with a view to protect our aspiration to keep up Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace.”
The Workplace of the President of Guyana confirmed Ali had agreed to the assembly, however added, “Guyana’s land boundary isn’t up for dialogue.”
Final weekend, voters in Venezuela rejected the Worldwide Court docket of Justice’s (ICJ) jurisdiction over the world, backing the creation of a brand new state.
Earlier on Saturday, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spoke to Maduro and known as for dialog, saying it was vital to keep away from unilateral measures that would escalate the state of affairs.
Lula, who has been invited to the Thursday assembly as an observer, reiterated that Brazil is able to assist and observe dialog initiatives, reinforcing a joint declaration by South American international locations that was launched earlier this week.
The US and Brazil are consulting one another on the Venezuela-Guyana border dispute, the press workplace of the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia mentioned.
“We reaffirm the US’ unwavering assist for Guyana’s sovereignty,” it mentioned in an announcement that mentioned each governments need a peaceable decision of the battle.
(Reporting by Vivian Sequera, Peter Siquiera, Luana Maria Benedito; Writing by Peter Frontini and Laura Gottesdiener; Enhancing by Cynthia Osterman and Jonathan Oatis)
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