In a press briefing yesterday(August 6, 2015) President David Granger said that he is still willing to hold talks with Venezuelan President, Nicholas Maduro.
The President stated that there are a number of issues which he wishes to tackle with his Venezuelan counterpart and these issues have nothing to do with any so-called territorial dispute since that matter was put to bed 116 years ago.
“I would like to discuss the reduction of tension, the removal of aggressive actions on the part of Venezuela and I would like to discuss the restoration of cordial relations among all states of the Caribbean and the hemisphere, those are the things I want to discuss with Maduro. I want to discuss making the Caribbean a zone of peace; I want to discuss giving Guyana an opportunity to develop its resources without interference,” President Granger said.
Over the Past two months, President Maduro has issued decrees claiming rights over Guyana’s exclusive economic zone. In his address to the Parliament last month, President Granger said that, “Guyana has always embraced the principle of the peaceful settlement of disputes. But in as much as we are a peace-loving nation, we will not allow our territorial integrity to be threatened or violated.”
Meanwhile, President Maduro has moved to the United Nations (UN) with the hopes of getting the international community to listen to the Venezuelan rationale for impinging on the rights of a sovereign state and has even requested the appointment of a good officer, a decision that Guyana has since rejected. Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge at a recent press conference made it clear that the UN initiative has failed.
The Minister said that, “the good officer’s process to which we have adhered faithfully does not seem to offer any prospect of moving forward…the way I see it our only option is for a judicial resolution of the matter of going forward.”
