GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Jul 31 2015 – In a bid to resolve the row between Guyana and Venezuela, President David Granger has expressed willingness to speak with his counterpart Nicolas Maduro when world leaders head to the General Assembly of the United Nations.
Foreign Minister Carl Greenidge told reporters that “there is room for discussion in an appropriate forum and if that is in the margins of the UN or anywhere else then that’s not a problem.”
However, Greenidge said there was no proposal for the leaders to hold talks. “We are not meeting one-on-one. There is no proposal to meet one-on-one and I don’t know what would be the objective of such a one-on-one,” said the Foreign Minister.
Maduro said that the Guyana-Venezuela controversy would be discussed at an upcoming Latin American meeting. Venezuela continues to claim the Essequibo Region, saying that the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award was concocted in favour of then British Guiana.
Guyana is pushing for UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to order a judicial settlement of the controversy over the ruling of the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award that settled the land-border controversy between the two countries. Guyana is expected to reiterate that position when Ban’s envoy visits Georgetown “soon.”
