Ahead of Thursday’s high-level meeting, CARICOM member state Guyana is hoping for a diplomatic solution to the ensuing border dispute with Venezuela, according to Mohabir A. Nandlall, Guyana’s attorney general.

Guyanese president Irfaan Ali and Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro are set to meet on Thursday as both leaders attempt to broker a diplomatic solution to the ensuing border impasse that is threatening to escalate into a war.

“We are hoping for the best, we are going to the engagement on Thursday, and we are very fixed in what we are going to discuss and what we will not discuss. Our position remains very strong and we are going there in solidarity with our CARICOM Governments and those in the Latin American community have asked to meet as they have stood with us, we are going to try diplomacy again. We are going to do what is necessary to protect our territory, we have strong support in our large powerful allies and we are going to stick with them and we will see how it goes,” said Nandlall, who also serves as the country’s minister of legal affairs.

He was speaking at a University of the West Indies Vice-Chancellor’s forum themed ‘Guarding Sovereignty’, where several experts came together to examine the political and legal issues arising from the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy.

There has been long-standing tension between Guyana and Venezuela over the Essequibo region in Guyana, with Maduro threatening to annex the oil-rich region.

The territorial dispute is currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for resolution.

The ICJ has since prohibited Venezuela from taking any action that would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory where Guyana currently has control.

Both countries are urged by the court to refrain from any action that might aggravate or extend the dispute before the court, or make it more difficult to resolve.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, is set to host a meeting with the presidents of both countries along with other CARICOM heads of government on Thursday, December 14, in an attempt to ‘de-escalate’ the conflict between the two country’s and facilitate dialogue.