HAVANA, December 15. /TASS/. The governments of Venezuela and Guyana have pledged to avoid resorting to the use of force in resolving their territorial conflict and will establish a special commission to seek a resolution to the crisis, according to a joint statement issued following talks between the two sides hosted by Caribbean nation Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

"Guyana and Venezuela, directly or indirectly, will not threaten or use force against one another in any circumstances," the document, published in St. Vincent Times said. According to it, the sides are "committed to the pursuit of good neighborliness, peaceful coexistence, and the unity of Latin America and the Caribbean."

Representatives from both countries agreed on creating a special commission to resolve issues related to the territorial dispute. They "agreed to establish immediately a joint commission of the foreign ministers and technical persons from the two states to address matters as mutually agreed. An update from this joint commission will be submitted to the presidents of Guyana and Venezuela within three months," the statement said. According to the document, "Both states agreed to meet again in Brazil within the next three months, or at another time, to consider any matter with implications for the territory in dispute, including the above-mentioned update of the Joint Commission."

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) led by Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean (CELAC) led by Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves acted as intermediaries in organizing the top-level meeting.

Territorial conflict

Venezuela and Guyana have been at odds over a 159,500-square-kilometer area west of the Essequibo River for over a century. The territory, known as Guayana Esequiba, comprises more than two-thirds of Guyana’s territory and is home to 283,000 of the country’s population. The territorial dispute has been aggravated by the discovery in 2015 of oil fields containing at least 10 bln barrels of oil and the granting by Guyana of a concession to oil major ExxonMobil for petroleum production on Guyana’s continental shelf, the boundaries of which have not been delimited.

On December 6, Venezuela’s National Assembly (parliament) unanimously voted to pass the first reading of a bill of protection of Guayana Esequiba within Venezuela based on the results of an advisory referendum. The bill envisages creating Venezuela’s newest, 24th, state, Guayana Esequiba, on the disputed territory. Following this, the US announced the launch of joint military drills with the Guyanese military.

The UN International Court of Justice recognized in April that Guyana's claim against Venezuela for demarcation of the border between the neighboring countries is admissible for consideration on the basis of the decision of the arbitration court that adjudicated the matter in Paris in 1899, at which, under pressure from Great Britain, 90% of the disputed territory was transferred, using doctored maps, to its then-colony of British Guiana. Venezuela, which recognizes the disputed area as its legitimate territory, believes that the conflict is not subject to the jurisdiction of the UN International Court of Justice and insists on demarcation of the borders through direct negotiations with Guyana, which is stipulated in the Geneva Agreement of 1966.