President Hugo Chavez has offered to supply Guyana with all the fuel it needs, saying Venezuela should share its oil wealth with its neighbors and strengthen regional unity.
Chavez told Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo that Venezuela is willing to increase oil shipments of 5,000 barrels a day to 10,000 barrels, which would satisfy Guyana’s fuel needs. Guyana receives Venezuelan oil under the Petrocaribe program, which provides Chavez’s regional allies with cheap oil in exchange for goods or services — not just cash.
"This makes us feel more committed to South American integration," Chavez said Wednesday.
Chavez also announced that Venezuela and Guyana have agreed to restart talks on settling a long-running dispute over Guyana’s Essequibo region, an area rich in minerals, natural gas and oil.
The 63,800-square-mile (159,500-square-kilometer) expanse of jungle comprises roughly two-thirds of the small South American country’s territory. But Venezuela argues that it should own the Essequibo, saying U.S., British and Russian commissioners cheated it out of the area when they drew up the border in 1899.
Under Chavez and Jagdeo, diplomatic relations have been cordial despite the border dispute.
"We’ve been able to place our relationship beyond the border problems to work in areas that are vital to the development of both countries," Jagdeo said, speaking through en interpreter.
Chavez added "we cannot allow the Essequibo disagreement to turn us into countries that turn their backs on each other."
Guyana is eager to resolve the dispute and keep it from discouraging oil companies that may want to invest in the area.
Chavez also criticized Colombia on Wednesday, saying his government won’t be provoked by Bogota’s accusations that Colombian rebel leaders are taking refuge in Venezuela. He urged Venezuela’s ambassador to the Organization of American States, Roy Chaderton, to "do battle" with Colombia’s OAS representative when that diplomat presents what Colombia claims is proof of the guerrilla presence in Venezuela.
Chavez, who vehemently denies supporting the guerrillas, has warned he could break off diplomatic ties if Colombia’s outgoing leader, Alvaro Uribe, persists in accusations that rebels are hiding out in Venezuela and mounting attacks on Colombian troops from there.
Uribe’s government announced last week it asked the OAS to convene a special session to look into its accusations, citing numerous failed efforts to resolve the problem through direct dialogue with Venezuela. The special session is expected in Washington on Thursday.
