MEXICO CITY, September 24 The US government intends to “militarize” the territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana over the disputed territory of Essequibo, placing their military base there, said Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ivan Gil, speaking at the General Assembly of the United Nations.
“We condemn the intention of the government of the United States of America to militarize the situation (in Essequibo). The Southern Command is trying to create a military base in the disputed territory in order to create the spearhead of its aggression against Venezuela and seize our energy resources,” Gil said.
According to the minister, the Venezuelan parliament approved a referendum to protect the sovereign territory from the aggression of the US empire, “which wants to involve in a war for natural resources.”
“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reaffirms its commitment to peace, as well as its firm decision to defend its sovereignty and integrity,” Gil emphasized.
The head of Venezuelan diplomacy added that the US government, which considers itself the sovereign of the American continent, is once again interfering in the 200-year-old dispute over the territory of Essequibo, intends to appropriate Venezuelan oil with the help of Exxon Mobil.
“It (Exxon Mobil) has taken over the government of Guyana, which provides oil concessions in the undivided territorial sea, which is a complete violation of international law. It is impossible to unilaterally dispose of the disputed territory, but the government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana persists in its illegal behavior,” he added. Gil.
For more than 100 years, Venezuela and Guyana, which was a British colony and is now part of the Commonwealth of Nations, have argued over the territory of Essequibo, an area that has large oil reserves. In 1966, both countries signed the Geneva Agreement to seek a peaceful solution to the dispute, but in 2018, Guyana filed a case at the International Court of Justice in which it asks the court to legally approve the 1899 Arbitral Award, which gives the country absolute control over the territory.
The 1966 Geneva Agreement to resolve disputes over the border between Venezuela and British Guiana, registered with the UN, regulated the countries' steps to resolve the border dispute, but one of the interim protocols was not ratified by Caracas. Since 1983, Venezuela has offered direct negotiations to Guyana, but Guyana insists on resolving the issue in the UN General Assembly, the Security Council or the International Court.