VENEZUELA-GUYANA/MADURO Venezuela recalls ambassador to Guyana amid territory dispute

Record ID: 148274

  • Title: VENEZUELA-GUYANA/MADURO Venezuela recalls ambassador to Guyana amid territory dispute
  • Date: 7th July 2015
  • Summary: CARACAS, VENEZUELA (JULY 06, 2015) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF MADURO IN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AND LAWMAKERS APPLAUDING
  • Embargoed: 22nd July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA642T6F9PN71DZ7IPFT2P9E1AB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday (July 06) said he was calling in the country's ambassador in neighbouring Guyana for consultations amid an escalating row over oil exploration in a disputed offshore territory.
    The OPEC nation in June demanded that Guyana halt exploration being carried out by Exxon Mobil Corp off the coast of the region known as the Essequibo, weeks after Exxon said it had found oil in the region.
    "This is why I have decided to call for consultation the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela's ambassador to Guyana, to reduce the size and the level of our embassy in Guyana and I have ordered the foreign ministry to comprehensively review relations with the current government of Guyana. I ask for all the support of the country, I ask for the support of the National Assembly," announced Maduro in the country's National Assembly.
    Maduro has ruled out the possibility of armed conflict, but described recently elected Guyanese President David Granger as a "hostage of Exxon Mobil."
    Exxon, consulted about the issue in the past, has said its policy is to follow host countries' and international law, and that border disputes are a matter for governments to resolve.
    U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday (July 03) offered to help resolve the dispute.
    The Essequibo, a sparsely populated region of thick jungle, encompasses an area equivalent to around two-thirds of Guyanese territory. It functions in practice as part of Guyana and shows no discernible trace of Venezuelan influence.
    Guyana says Caracas agreed to relinquish the Essequibo following a ruling by an international tribunal in 1899, but that Venezuela later backtracked on that decision.
    Venezuela says the 1899 ruling was unfair and insists the territory is still in dispute. Maps in Venezuela usually describe the Essequibo as the "reclamation zone."
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