GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC—Guyana says that while regional partners agree that Russian warships scheduled to navigate towards the Caribbean this month pose no security threat to the region, it assures citizens that it will not let down its guard.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, speaking at his weekly news conference on Thursday, said that while the presence of the warships may spark concerns about the evolving ties between Russia and Venezuela, he wanted to reassure the public that the presence of these vessels does not directly menace Guyana’s security.
Jagdeo told reporters that some regional partners agree that Russian naval activity poses no immediate threat to Guyana or its interests.
“The view shared by some of our partners is that it’s not something we should worry about, that it doesn’t represent a direct threat to Guyana or Guyana’s interest. Nevertheless, we are vigilant and keep this issue on our policy radar.”
International news outlets reported that the Russian fleet is scheduled to engage in naval exercises in nations allied with Moscow, notably Cuba and Venezuela.
Jagdeo said President Irfaan Ali has been actively engaging with regional partners to address concerns arising from this development.
The specter of Venezuela’s assertive actions toward Guyana looms large in this context, particularly concerning the disputed Essequibo region, which Venezuela claims as its own. Last month, Jagdeo disclosed that Guyana had notified relevant authorities about ongoing Venezuelan aggressions, including troop buildups along the shared border.
Lawmakers in Venezuela allied with President Nicolas Maduro approved the creation of a new state in Guyana’s Essequibo on March 21 this year despite an ongoing international court case.
The approval is being regarded as in line with Maduro’s rhetoric about his country’s supposed right to govern the 162,000-square-mile Essequibo region.
Guyana is currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the substantive matter of the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy. Under the United Nations Charter and the Court’s rules, final judgments from the ICJ on jurisdiction and the merits will be legally binding on the two countries, whether or not Venezuela participates in the proceedings.
Guyana’s border with Venezuela was legally and internationally decided over 100 years ago by a tribunal of arbitration in 1899 in what was determined then to be a “full, perfect, and final settlement.”
Guyana is seeking to obtain from the ICJ a final and binding judgment that confirms that the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the location of the land boundary between then-British Guiana and Venezuela, remains valid and binding and that Guyana’s Essequibo region belongs to Guyana and not Venezuela.
Venezuela has, so far, participated in the ICJ proceedings despite claiming that it does not recognize the Court.
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