Venezuela, Guyana agree to keep dialogue amid tensions

CARACAS — Guyana and Venezuela agreed on Wednesday to keep "communication channels open" in a fast-escalating feud over the disputed Essequibo region, as Brazil reinforced its troops near its own border.

In Caracas, the government said its top diplomat Yvan Gil had a phone call with Guyanese counterpart Hugh Todd "to discuss the issue of the territorial dispute" over the Essequibo region to which both countries lay claim.

The discussion took place at Guyana's request, it said in a statement, and concluded with the parties agreeing to "keep the communication channels open".

Essequibo has long been a disputed region between Venezuela and Guyana. Venezuela has considered Essequibo its own because the region was within its boundaries during the Spanish colonial period, and it has long disputed the border decided by international arbitrators in 1899, when Guyana was a British colony.

On Tuesday, Caracas proposed a bill to create a Venezuelan province in Essequibo and ordered the state oil company to issue licenses for extracting crude in the region.

Emboldened by an overwhelming "yes" vote in a referendum on Essequibo's fate held on Sunday, President Nicolas Maduro also gave an ultimatum to oil companies working under concessions issued by Guyana to halt operations within three months.

Guyanese President Irfaan Ali called Maduro's statements a "direct threat" against his country and said he would seek relief from the United Nations Security Council.

Guyana's armed forces were on "alert", Ali added in a rare address to the nation late on Tuesday.

Also on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the peaceful settlement of the dispute between Venezuela and Guyana, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

"The secretary-general strongly supports the use of solely peaceful means to settle international disputes," Dujarric said.

The Brazilian army said an infantry brigade with almost 2,000 soldiers had "intensified" its military presence in the border region, tasked with "surveillance and protection of the national territory".

The United States said it was closely watching the situation.

Agencies - Xinhua