- Kingstown will serve as a platform for facilitating a meeting between Guyana and Venezuela over the ongoing border dispute.
- Great value’ in meeting between Presidents Ali and Maduro.
- The implications of open conflict are horrendous to contemplate.
St Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves says leaders within the CARICOM have played an important role in assisting to bring about a meeting to be held on Thursday in Kingstown between the President of Venezuela and Guyana to discuss the ongoing border conflict.
The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 14, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) President, Ralph Gonsalves, the Heads of State of CARICOM, and the Brazilian President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, will preside over the discussions.
Gonsalves said It is very easy in a matter like this for people to vent anger, to beat their chests, and to declare in favour of this or that, and while that may be quite satisfying, it does not aid a solution.
“The fact of the matter is that our region has been and is a zone of peace, and we would like to keep it like this. If open conflict and force emerge, the implications are horrendous to contemplate. It would affect everyone negatively in the most distant villages in our Caribbean and also in Latin America”.
Gonsalves said there are lots of complexities, and he does not presume to know all the ins and outs of every complexity. But he has studied this matter, read a lot about it, and sought a lot of advice. He says there is great value for both leaders to communicate.
“This is a complicated issue, but it is not beyond the leaders to help save the region from intense conflict, which will bring about lots of pain and suffering and will set back this region for more than a generation. And that’s why I also framed the issue in terms of the interests of our Caribbean and Latin American civilizations.”.
Gonsalves said there are many things to be addressed.
“The matter of the commitment to international law, the commitment to peace, to maintain the region as a zone of peace and not to go to conflict—all those things are of great importance, and I’m sure when leaders sit down, they will search for and find modalities to continue to maintain a peaceful coexistence.”.
Gonsalves said both leaders have agreed with him for such a meeting to be held under the auspices of CELAC, of which St Vincent and Grenadine is the pro tempore president, and CARICOM, of which the current chairman is the Commonwealth of Dominica. Gonsalves stated that both leaders have also requested the distinguished presence of the president of the Republic of Brazil, His Excellency Luis Ignacio Lula Da Silva.
“Given the recent events and circumstances attendant upon the border controversy, the leaderships of CELAC and CARICOM have assessed, in the interest of all concerned, including our Caribbean and Latin American civilizations, the urgent need to de-escalate the conflict and institute an appropriate dialogue face-to-face between the presidents of Guyana and Venezuela,” Gonsalves wrote in a letter to both leaders.
Gonsalves said both leaders concurred with the aforementioned assessment in the quest for peaceful coexistence, the application and respect for international law, and the avoidance of the use or threat of force.
Gonsalves said that on Friday evening, CARICOM Heads of Government met and certain matters were crystallised, and he was accorded a particular role in the matter.
