Caracas, Aug 11 (EFE). – The Venezuelan government announced Monday that it will not recognize any decision by the International Court of Justice on the territorial dispute with Guyana over the Essequibo.<\/p>
“We do not recognize under any circumstances the fraudulent judicial process initiated by Guyana, nor will we abide by any sentence issued in this matter,” said Executive Vice President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, in a statement read to the media.<\/p>
However, she reiterated that the presentation of this “evidence” does not imply Venezuela’s consent or recognition of the ICJ’s jurisdiction in the dispute with Guyana.<\/p>
“Venezuela has demonstrated once again the solid legal and factual reasons for its irrevocable historical position of not submitting to third parties, including the ICJ, issues related to its vital interests such as its independence and territorial integrity,” the vice president added.<\/p>
Rodriguez indicated that the brief “fully demonstrates” that the Geneva Agreement signed in 1966 is the only legal document that “binds Venezuela and Guyana to the resolution of the territorial dispute, through a practical, satisfactory and acceptable settlement for both parties.”<\/p>
“The Cooperative Republic of Guyana has the unavoidable obligation to comply with its international duties and sit down to negotiate in good faith, peacefully and diplomatically with Venezuela, without resorting to military threats or the use of force, using extra-regional powers to reissue the structural coercion exercised for centuries against Venezuela”, she added.<\/p>
The Venezuelan Vice President said that the United Kingdom “artificially fabricated a conflict over a portion of the disputed Venezuelan territory,” which now, she said, Guyana intends to reedit.<\/p>
The differences over the border limits around the Essequibo, an area of almost 160,000 square kilometers that Venezuela has been claiming for over a century, began with the Paris Arbitral Award of 1899, which gave sovereignty over the territory to the then British Guyana.<\/p>
Decades later, Venezuela declared the ruling void and signed the Geneva Agreement of 1966 with the United Kingdom, which established a commission to resolve the historic controversy, but it never materialized.<\/p>
Guyana, which relies on the 1899 arbitration award, is betting on resolving the territorial conflict through the process opened in the ICJ.<\/p>
In May, Venezuela held regional and parliamentary elections in which it chose a governor for Guayana Essequiba, as the Caribbean country calls the disputed area, and which it now considers its 24th state.EFE<\/p>
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