Guyana not moved by Maduro’s latest pronouncements and recall of Ambassador -Foreign Minister Greenidge

Greenidge said the Venezuelan Head of State, who recently issued a decree extending his country’s maritime zone into Guyana’s oil rich waters, only has himself to blame for the stance CARICOM and others have taken on the issue.

Guyana not moved by Maduro’s latest pronouncements and recall of Ambassador   -Foreign Minister Greenidge

The Guyana Government has reacted with little worry over what seems to be a toughening of Venezuela’s position over its claim of Guyana’s territory with the recall of its resident Ambassador on Monday and the re-examination of its diplomatic relations Guyana.

In a Tuesday morning interview, Guyana’s Foreign Minister Carl Greenidge said the move by President Nicolas Maduro seems to be an attempt to get back at Guyana following CARICOM’s recent pronouncement on the issue.

Greenidge said the Venezuelan Head of State, who recently issued a decree extending his country’s maritime zone into Guyana’s oil rich waters, only has himself to blame for the stance CARICOM and others have taken on the issue.

“The CARICOM Heads of Government actually pronounced on the impact of the decree on all of CARICOM, so he’s really barking up the wrong tree and he needs to go and deal with CARICOM,” Greenidge added.

He believes that other Caribbean Community member states have seen the impact that the decree could have on CARICOM’s patrimony and are equally concerned.

“It is astonishing that Venezuela would think that we have somehow committed an offense action against them,” Greendige said as he insisted that the move by the Venezuelan government was illegal.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said the recall of his Ambassador to Guyana was for consultation purposes.

He has also decided to trim the number of workers at the Venezuelan embassy in Guyana. In an address to his country’s National Assembly on Monday, Maduro also instructed his Minister of Foreign Affairs to re-examine diplomatic relations with Guyana.

Guyana and Venezuela have shared strong diplomatic relations for decades in spite of the border controversy.

Just this past week, CARICOM joined The Commonwealth and the Organization of American States and the US Government in denouncing Venezuela’s illegal decree claiming Guyana’s oil rich waters. The international community appears firmly in Guyana’s corner.

President David Granger has said Venezuela must withdraw the illegal decree and stop blocking Guyana’s development of its oil resources.

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