In a letter sent on Monday to St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, Maduro wished the meeting would serve as “a starting point to the return of direct negotiations between both countries.”

The head of State pointed out these negotiations were disrupted in recent years by “a series of actions contrary” to the spirit of the 1966 Geneva Agreement.

Maduro claimed that he will go to the December 14 meeting “with a mandate from my people,” which, in a transparent manner, went to the consultative referendum, called by the Parliament, and in a “steady manner paved the way of political and diplomatic actions” in defense of the legitimate rights of the Essequibo territory.

The Venezuelan people reaffirmed their rejection of the limits established in the 1899 Arbitral Award, and reaffirmed the route of the 1966 Geneva Agreement, as “the only way to reach a solution to the controversy”, he said.

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