Venezuela and Guyana Disagree on Meeting Goals: Argus

The presidents of Guyana and Venezuela have expressed differing views of the aim of their meeting in St Vincent and the Grenadines later today, ArgusMedia reports.

• President Maduro said in a letter to the host’s PM that he welcomed the meeting with his Guyanan counterpart “"...with the hope that it becomes at a starting point towards the return of direct negotiations."
• However, Guyana’s president Irfaan Ali issued a sharp rebuttal, insisting that the meeting is for de-escalation and that the territorial dispute of the Essequibo region is to be resolved via the ongoing case with the UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ).
• Venezuela has repeatedly rejected the ICJ’s sovereignty over the case and voted to annex the territory in a referendum.
• Guyana is one of the fastest-growing oil producers and the Essequibo region is home to some of its most promising fields, such as the 8 billion boe Stabroek bloc.
• Venezuela recently gave oil producers in Guyana 90 days to cease operations in the disputed Essequibo region.