Guyanese President Irfaan Ali (left) and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (right). Photo: El Pais/File photo.
The government of Guyana accepted the proposal for dialogue made by the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, to ” maintain Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace, without interference from external actors.” The meeting will be held on Thursday, December 14, in the Caribbean country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Through a statement, the Venezuelan government reported on the upcoming high-level meeting between President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and President Irfaan Ali of Guyana. This development came after a phone call between President Maduro, his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves.
“Venezuela expresses its satisfaction and accepts the call with approval and commitment,” the statement quoted.
Unofficial translation of the statement is provided below:
President Nicolás Maduro speaks with President Lula of Brazil, Prime Minister Gonsalves, Pro Tempore President of CELAC, and Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres
The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, has held telephone conversations with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and with the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves.
In these conversations, a proposal was received to hold a high-level meeting with the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, which will be announced in the coming days, in order to preserve our aspiration to maintain Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace, without interference from external actors, per what was agreed upon by both countries within the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
Venezuela expresses its satisfaction and accepts the call with approval and commitment.
In both phone calls, we ratified our historical position on the unquestionable sovereign rights of Venezuela over the Essequibo as well as the legitimate and peaceful nature of our claim, which has strictly adhered to the provisions of the Geneva Agreement of 1966, and the principles and values that inspire our Bolivarian Peace Diplomacy.
Additionally, President Nicolás Maduro spoke with the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, who committed to promoting efforts in favor of direct dialogue between the parties, and recalled that he has always offered his good offices for the solution of the controversy.
Caracas, December 9, 2023
The information was confirmed by the prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, at a press conference in which he read a letter sent by his government to the presidents of Guyana and Venezuela.
The letter reports that the meeting will be held under the auspices of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), where issues related to the border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela will be addressed.
Gonsalves also noted that he has held several meetings and phone conversations to mediate in the Essequibo dispute, including Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, and Honduran President Xiomara Castro who will be the next pro tempore president of CELAC, taking over the charge from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SC
