The leaders of Guyana and Venezuela have landed in St Vincent and the Grenadines for a tense meeting as regional nations sought to defuse a long-standing territorial dispute that has escalated with Venezuelans voting in a referendum to claim two thirds of their smaller neighbour.
Pushed by regional partners, Guyanan President Irfaan Ali and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro agreed to meet at the Argyle International Airport on the eastern Caribbean island of St Vincent.
The prime ministers of Barbados, Dominica and Trinidad and Tobago said they also would attend.
Mr Ali arrived first, with Mr Maduro arriving shortly after.
Ahead of the meeting, Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, said he expected additional meetings to be held.
“To use a cricket metaphor, this is not a one-day cricket match,” he said. “It is like a Test match, and there will be other rounds and games, but the fact that they will be talking is very important on friendly, neutral grounds like St Vincent and the Grenadines.”
The meeting is aimed at easing the tensions that have flared over Essequibo, a vast border region rich in oil and minerals that represents much of Guyana’s territory but that Venezuela claims as its own.
Venezuela’s president followed the referendum by ordering his state-owned companies to explore and exploit the oil, gas and mines in Essequibo. And both sides have put their militaries on alert.
It was unclear if the session would lead to any agreements or even ease the border controversy.
Guyana’s president has repeatedly said the dispute needs to be resolved solely by the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands.
“We are firm on this matter and it will not be open for discussion,” Mr Ali wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Venezuela insists the Essequibo region was part of its territory during the Spanish colonial period, and argues the 1966 Geneva Agreement between their country, Britain and Guyana, the former colony of British Guiana, nullified the border drawn in 1899 by international arbitrators.
In a letter sent on Tuesday to Mr Gonsalves, Guyana’s president said the Geneva Agreement states that the International Court of Justice should settle any border controversy.
Mr Ali also said he was concerned about what he described as “inaccurate assertions” made by Mr Maduro’s own letter to Mr Gonsalves.
He rebutted Mr Maduro’s description of oil concessions granted by Guyana as being “in a maritime area yet to be delimited”. Mr Ali said all oil blocks “are located well within Guyanese waters under international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea”.
Mr Ali also rejected what he said Mr Maduro described as “meddling of the United States Southern Command, which has begun operations in the disputed territory”.
The US Southern Command conducted flight operations within Guyana in recent days.
“Any allegation that a military operation aimed at Venezuela exists in any part of Guyanese territory is false, misleading and provocative,” Mr Ali said in his letter to Mr Gonsalves.
Mr Maduro’s letter to Mr Gonsalves repeats Venezuela’s contention that the border drawn in 1899 was “the result of a scheme” between the US and the UK. It also said the dispute “must be amicably resolved in a matter acceptable to both parties”.
The meeting between the two leaders was scheduled to last one day, although many expect the disagreement to drag on into next year.
