“Sooner rather than later, Guyana has to return to the Geneva Agreement as the only legal instrument to settle the controversy over the territory of Guyana Esequiba, Venezuela has not recognized in 75 years and will never recognize the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as an instance to reach a solution to the controversy left by the British empire,” stressed the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, in a special “360º” program, broadcast by Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
Satisfactory decision:
He reiterated that the 1966 Geneva Agreement must be the only way to reach a satisfactory solution for both Guyana and Venezuela, “And no judicial decision will be satisfactory to the parties.” When referring to the meeting he held with the President of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, which he described as a gesture of good neighborliness.
“I salute the gestures of good neighborliness, I question when it is necessary to question the gestures of bad neighborliness, when a British warship gets involved, when the Southern Command gets involved I question it, I rebuke it, and I believe that all of Latin America and the Caribbean rebukes it, but when there is a gesture of good neighborliness, (it is) welcome; “Venezuela is a country of peace.”
In this sense, the head of state emphasized that Venezuela is not obliged to accept any of the decisions issued by the International Court of Justice on the controversy over the Essequibo that left the British Empire. Finally, he noted that a spirit of harmony, understanding and rapprochement reigned at the CELAC Summit.
For his part, the Chancellor of the Republic, Yván Gil, pointed out that in the meeting held with his counterpart from Guyana on January 25, it was clear that the Geneva Agreement is the only instrument to advance the direct discussion:
“There was no doubt about the route we have to follow, both our proposal, which is the Geneva Agreement, and the reaction of the Government of Guyana, which admits that it is the only way, which is negotiation, and I believe that we will continue on the path to that negotiation. “In the face of provocations, the president’s instruction is firmness and negotiation with Guyana to move forward,” he concluded.
