Ali says talks with Maduro will focus on peace; US, Guyana sign Advanced Defence Agreement

Last Updated on Monday, 11 December 2023, 5:47 by Denis Chabrol

President Irfaan Ali on Sunday said he would be confining his discussions this week with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to the need peace and respect for international law.

“I don’t want to preempt what we will do or preempt what will be the outcome of the discussion but we have made it very clear…and we are hoping that good sense will prevail. We are hoping that there will be a full commitment to peace, respect for our borders and for peace within the region,” he told reporters.

He also made known his position in a letter to fellow Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leader and President of the Community for Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves.

While informing Dr Gonsalves that he would attend the December 14 meeting in St Vincent with the the Venezuelan leader “in answer to the call by colleague” CARICOM leaders for “appropriate dialogue” “to ensure peaceful coexistence, the application and respect for international law and the avoidance of the use or threats of force.”

For more than one month now, Venezuelan soldiers have been deployed to the Guyana-Venezuela border and though the Venezuelan government has ruled out an invasion, the troop movement and rhetoric have caused Brazilian troops to seal off an area where Venezuelan troops wanted to use to enter Brazil en route to Guyana.

Dr Ali’s response to Dr Gonsalves’ letter was copied to President Maduro, the President of Brazil Luis Inacio Lula Da Silva, Brazil’s President Luis Inacio ‘Lula’ Da Silva, CARICOM Chairman, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerritt and CARICOM Secretary General Dr Carla Barnett.

He noted that CARICOM leaders reasserted that they firmly support Guyana in resolving its border controversy with Venezuela through the International Court of Justice (ICJ), urged Venezuela to respect an order to respect the existing boundary with Guyana until a final resolution and reiterated its commitment to the Caribbean as a zone of peace and the maintenance of international law. “We are not going to remove from the ICJ, we are not going to step out from the ICJ. We have made it clear that this controversy with the ICJ,” he said.

President Ali vowed that Guyana would take action to prohibit Venezuela’s country’s state-owned oil and gas , and mining companies to search for oil, gas and minerals; the establishment of a military zone in Essequibo , and the granting of Venezuelan citizenship and identification cards to Guyanese and the chasing out of foreign companies would have to leave concessions that had been awarded by Guyanese. “We are not going to allow any of this to happen in Guyana. Let me make it very clear. He can announce and issue but none of this-we are working with our allies, we are working with our partners to ensure there is absolutely no overstepping into the sacred space of Guyana which includes comprehensively and in totality the Essequibo,” Dr Ali said.

Coming on the heels of a joint US Army – Guyana Defence Force flight operation over Guyanese airspace, the President said the two countries have signed an Advanced Defence Agreement to allow for “major training exercises” including a naval exchange as well other “pre-planned” training programmes with other partners. “Our partners are monitoring this and they are strongly in support of Guyana,” he said.

He noted that Brazil is in record as recognising the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award that settled the Guyana-Venezuela land boundary and so Essequibo is within the this country’s geographical space.

The President of Guyana has already ruled out any negotiations with the Venezuelan leader. The opposition APNU+AFC welcomes the talks but says there should no discussion about the border.