The Venezuelan government rejected on Friday the statements attributed to the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, through which "he pretends to decline his responsibility in the tensions generated by Guyana related to the territorial dispute over the Guayana Esequiba."
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In the text released by Foreign Minister Yván Gil through his account on the social network X, Venezuela reminds the Sectretary General and the international community that, on February 25, 2018, the need to respect the Geneva Agreement of 1966 was warned.
"However, turning its back on the application of the successive means contemplated in that agreement, the case was referred, without the will of one of the parties, to the International Court of Justice (ICJ)," the statement reads.
This action marked a turning point in the behavior of Guyana, "which has abandoned the diplomatic path of direct dialogue, taking decisions that challenge international legality and threaten the peace and stability of the Caribbean region," the textt adds.
In this regard, the communiqué points out that Guyana's actions "associated with the U.S. Southern Command and authorizing concessions in a sea pending delimitation with Venezuela," are becoming the greatest threat to peace and stability in the Caribbean.
The Venezuelan government also reiterated the country's call to establish direct talks to advance a peaceful and mutually satisfactory resolution of the territorial dispute. The South American country upholds the effectiveness of the Geneva Agreement and urges Georgetown to comply with it in order to reach a reasonable agreement for both countries.
Likewise, the text ratifies the holding of the referendum in defense of the Guayana Esequiba on December 3. The results will mark the destiny in the struggle to assert Venezuela's historical rights over the disputed territory, it states.
According to the Vice President of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Carlos Quintero, 53 percent of the activities foreseen in the schedule for the consultative referendum have been carried out.
A mock referendum will be held on November 19, which is "an important exercise to interact with the process in the 800 centers available," said Quintero, calling on the population to participate.