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…invites new government for talks on border despite ongoing ICJ matter
President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro is pleased with the re-election of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and looks forward to resuming discussions on the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy, but on pre-2015 terms.
On Monday, Maduro, whose election to office is contested as illegitimate, congratulated President of Guyana, Irfaan Ali whose election is also contested as illegitimate by the APNU+AFC Coalition.
“The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, on behalf of the Venezuelan people and Government, congratulates the people of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana after the electoral process that, after a prolonged period of recounting votes, allowed to know the definitive results of the regional and general elections held on March 2, in which Dr. Mohamed lrfaan Ali was elected as president,” a release from their government stated.
On the matter of the Arbitral Award of 3 October, 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela) case, in which Venezuela seeks rights to own more than half of Guyana, the Venezuelan government continued:
“The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela vows to resume the ties of cooperation and good neighborliness that characterized the comprehensive bilateral relationship with Guyana until 2015, always seeking the shared development of both peoples. Finally, referring to the historic territorial controversy over Esquiba Guyana, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reiterates to the new Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana the need to reactivate the mechanisms for dialogue and negotiation as soon as possible to reach a practical and satisfactory settlement.”
The neighbouring government was keen to note that the favorable relations it shared with Guyana halted in 2015, the year the APNU+AFC took office.
In his first year in office in 2015, former President, David Granger had sought meetings with former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon and, subsequently, current Secretary-General, António Guterres, to bring favorable closure to the territorial issue.
He was pleased when Guterres, not long after, decided to refer the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a final ruling.
“The territorial question has been an enormous burden for this country to bear; for the foreign service, for the Defence Force and for the people of this country who have been denied the ability and the opportunity to develop the hinterland for generations to come. [They] have seen that their maritime resources have been threatened by aggressive actions by our neighbour. The expulsion of unarmed, civilian exploration vessels. It is difficult to find any international event or occurrence more important than the territorial question,” former President Granger said on June 1, on the sidelines of a ceremony at State House.
However, in October 2015, the Stabroek News reported that former president Bharrat Jagdeo, and current Vice President, admitted that his PPP/C government had explored the option of granting Venezuela a channel through Guyana’s Atlantic waters as a means of settling the long-running border controversy.
Jagdeo had raised concerns about whether the Granger administration’s strategy for a juridical settlement of the controversy was the best option or even available.
“There are several options that over the years we believe that Venezuela could have walked away [and] we could have found a medium [or a solution]…I just want to make sure that whatever we do doesn’t leave the country exposed. I can tell you about five routes or options that we looked at in what might be possible as a solution,” the former president said, adding:
“There was one view that you could, probably on the maritime area, give Venezuela a channel out to the sea. So, you make a slight concession in the maritime area but make sure that you do not concede any territory that is land-based because the maritime boundaries are still yet to be determined.”
