US assures border controversy will not be part of talks with Venezuela

US assures border controversy will not be part of talks with Venezuela – VP Pres.

Mar 26, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Following his meeting with visiting United States (US) Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Caribbean Affairs and Haiti, Barbara Feinstein yesterday, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said the US has assured that the Guyana border controversy case will not be a part of any discussion it holds with Venezuela.
The Vice President who spoke at a press conference after his meeting on Friday stated that the US has agreed to share information with Guyana about what takes place in those meetings it would have the neighbouring country in the future.

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

“We spoke a bit about the border too and the assurances that have been communicated publically by the Deputy Assistant Secretary, were repeated at the meeting about the US’s position in relation to our sovereignty. We were assured first of all that Guyana did not come and our sovereignty would not be part of any such discussions and that we will continue to share more information about what takes place in these discussions in the future,” the VP told members of the media.
As previously reported, on March 8, 2022, Guyana had submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, its Memorial on the merits of its case against Venezuela. The submission takes the court one step closer to ruling on the matter.
The submission is required by the Court following its decision of 18 December, 2020 to hear the case.
The decision was a confirmation of its jurisdiction to decide the merits of Guyana’s border claims. The court case stems from the dispute between Guyana and Venezuela about the ownership of the Essequibo Region.
The matter is before the Court pursuant to the decision of the Secretary General (SG) of the United Nations under the 1966 Geneva Agreement, by which the parties conferred upon the SG the authority to determine the means by which the border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela shall be settled.
Kaieteur News previously reported that Guyana seeks from the Court a decision that the Arbitral Award of 1899 determining the boundary is valid and binding upon Guyana and Venezuela, and that the boundary established by that Award and the 1905 Agreement demarcating it, is the lawful boundary between Guyana and Venezuela.