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By Travis Chase – CNS Contributor
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Apr 28 2016, CNS – Guyana’s President David Granger on Thursday extended an olive branch to his Venezuelan counterpart Nicholas Maduro, even as the two countries remain locked in a border dispute.
In May last year, Venezuela renewed claims to more than two thirds of Guyana’s territory following the discovery of oil in the Seabrook block offshore Guyana.
Following the claims there have been several spats between the two Governments with Venezuela going as far as ceasing all trade with Guyana.
“You know, there’s a saying in international relations you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your neighbours. We can’t choose the neighbour we have on the west but we are prepared to restore cordial relations with Venezuela,” Granger told Caribbean News Service (CNS).
“I would like to meet him (Maduro) and sit down and talk but he must deal with this elephant in the room, this territorial controversy and he must agree not to send gunboats into our waters again, not to harass us, not to write to investors in the hinterland threatening them with litigation and claiming the entire hinterland and let us move forward into the future.
“That is to respect out territorial integrity and allow us to develop our country which he hasn’t done or no Venezuelan president has allowed to be done over the last 50 years,” Granger added.
And as Venezuela turns to the international community for technical help and financial aid to help revert a serious energy crisis, Granger said Guyana is ready to assist if Caracas makes a request for assistance.
“As you know, we supply rice. If he writes for help Guyana will be willing to assist,” Granger said.
“I think he needs a lot of help now. There are obviously challenges with the economy (and) I think we could supply and we would be happy to have a cordial relationship with the Bolivarian Republic but he hasn’t asked,” Granger noted.
