Venezuela: Maduro asks the UN to reactivate the dialogue with Guyana for the Essequibo region

The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, sent this Friday a letter to the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, in which he asks him to reactivate the good offices to enable a dialogue with Guyana on sovereignty from the disputed region of Essequibo.

Maduro requests these contacts as a way to avoid decisions outside of international legality that may seriously jeopardize the peace and security of the region in reference to the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to declare itself competent over this contentious.

The harsh historical experience of economic aggression and territorial dispossession by imperial powers taught us never to submit our sovereignty to the decisions of international bodies that endanger our political independence and territorial integrity, Venezuela says in its letter.

The jurisdiction of the Court rests on the consent of the parties, a consent that my country has not given, being firm, clear and consistent from the beginning with its historical position.

He said, in his hands he is channeling a territorial controversy through peaceful means, a friendly, practical and satisfactory solution for both parties. Only direct talks between sovereign states can bring us closer to a truly negotiated, friendly and definitive solution in this territorial controversy.

The letter has been released on social networks by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jorge Arreaza.

He said, only direct talks between sovereign states can bring us closer to a solution on the controversy inherited from the colonial robberies of the 19th century.