Antigua PM reiterates support for Guyana
Prime Minister Gaston Browne has said Antigua and Barbuda will remain a vocal supporter of Guyana in its territorial dispute with Venezuela.
Browne commented in a statement last evening as he responded to a report in the online publication Antigua News that attributed statements to him contrary to his publicly stated position.
The prime minister said Antigua and Barbuda “aligns fully with the public statement of CARICOM issued on December 1st, which recognises the territorial integrity of Guyana and supports the process at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as the legal and peaceful means of dealing with this matter.”
“The Prime Minister said that his government rejects aggression of any kind and insists that the Caribbean region must remain a zone of peace in the interest of the well-being and prosperity of the region’s people.”
Browne added that he had spoken to the Presidents of Brazil and Cuba on Saturday and asked that they urge Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to respect the decision of the ICJ.
Venezuelans voted on Sunday to approve a referendum on the government’s claim to sovereignty over an oil- and mineral-rich region of western Guyana.
The National Electoral Council claimed to have counted more than 10.5 million votes, according to an Associated Press (AP) report.
AP noted the National Electoral Council did not explain whether the number of votes was equivalent to each voter or if it was the sum of each answer.
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