Brazil will host on Thursday a meeting of the foreign ministers of Guyana and Venezuela, following Venezuela’s claim to Essequibo, an oil-rich Guyanese territory.
Holding a meeting in Brazil was part of the agreement signed back in December by President Irfaan Ali of Guyana and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a meeting at the Argyle International Airport in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The joint statement referred to a “border dispute” and a “disputed territory” but did not mention Essequibo by name. Similarly, the press statement by Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announcing the meeting also does not cite Essequibo.
President Ali has said that Essequibo “is not up for discussion, negotiation, or deliberation.”
Last December, Venezuela’s authoritarian government held a referendum on its claim to Essequibo. Following the results of the vote, Mr. Maduro ordered the “immediate” exploitation of the region’s natural resources and unveiled a new map of his country that included Essequibo within its borders.
Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira is currently in Paraguay for a joint ministerial meeting between Bolivia and Mercosur, the trade alliance formed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, which Bolivia is to join soon. He will depart Asunción in the afternoon to attend the meeting tomorrow with his Guyanese and Venezuelan counterparts.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry did not confirm to The Brazilian Report whether the meeting on Thursday will be followed by a public statement.
A representative of the United Nations Secretary-General will also attend the meeting.
The Brazilian government has done more to avoid responsibility for a potential war than to persuade Venezuela to not attack or claim its neighbor’s territory.
During a Senate hearing last month, Brazil’s newly confirmed ambassadors to both Guyana and Venezuela also remained noncommittal about Mr. Maduro’s ambitions.
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