GEORGETOWN.- The Undersecretary of State for the Americas and the Caribbean of the Government BritishDavid Rutley, arrived this Monday in the capital of GuyanaGeorgetown, where he was received by the Guyanese president, Irfaan Ali, in a gesture from London of support against the territorial claims of Venezuela about the region of Essequibo.
“The conversation has focused on the maintenance and expansion of relations between the United Kingdom and Guyana, especially in areas such as sustainable economic development and security,” the Guyanese Presidency reported in a statement published on Facebook.
Previously, Rutley himself had explained London’s support. “I am in Guyana, also a member of the Commonwealth, to offer the United Kingdom’s unequivocal support to our Guyanese friends,” he said.
According to the United Kingdom, the border dispute “was closed 120 years ago.” “Sovereign borders must be respected anywhere in the world,” Rutley stressed.
In any case, Rutley expressed his satisfaction with the agreement reached between Guyana and Venezuela last week in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines “to avoid the use of force and any new escalation.” “The United Kingdom will continue to work with its partners in the region and through international organizations to guarantee the territorial integrity of Guyana,” he stressed.
The territorial conflict dates back to the 19th century, when an 1899 ruling, defended from Georgetown, stipulated that Venezuela renounced Essequibo, although it later retracted this. For its part, Caracas relies on the 1966 Geneva Agreement signed between the United Kingdom (former colonial power of Guyana) and Venezuela, in which they recognized Essequibo as a disputed territory.
On December 3, Venezuela approved the annexation of Essequibo in a referendum. A few days later, Nicolás Maduro presented to the National Assembly an Organic Law for the creation of the state of Guayana Esequiba following the results of the referendum, which in the eyes of Caracas went from being consultative to binding.
Source: With information from Europa Press
