T&T is prepared to mediate to help towards “productive dialogue” on Venezuela’s crisis —that’s as far as the Government will go.
With world super powers lined up on opposing sides of the issue, Venezuela’s calamity on Thursday became an emergency Caricom issue, prompting a special meeting by regional leaders last night.
And Communication Minister Stuart Young pointed out that Caricom’s foreign policy position has generally been non-intervention and non inteference - one which T&T is firmly maintaining regarding the escalating troubles of its neighbour seven miles away.
Young said Government recognises incumbent President Nicolas Maduro as Venezuela’s head and would not “take basket” to heed calls for interventionist action.
“We as a Government encourage dialogue and for people to talk and work out their differences as best as they can...T&T has always held ourselves available to act as any mediator or act in any position that may bring people to carry out productive dialogue - that’s the role that we’re prepared to play,” Young added.
Young spoke ahead of his Ministry’s announcement that regional leaders - including Prime Minister Keith Rowley and Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses - held a video conference meeting to address the ongoing situation in Venezuela. Moses, appearing on a special on CNC3 last evening, said T&T’s position is supported by several Caribbean and Latin American countries.
Young, at Thursday’s post-Cabinet media briefing, said, “We’ll not intervene nor will we interfere in what is going on internally in other sovereign states. Venezuela stands seven miles away from T&T, therefore whatever goes on in Venezuela is bound to affect us here in T&T.”
On the situation jeopardising T&T’s geopolitical situation if the US invades Venezuela, Young said T&T would align itself “...Exactly where we are now.”
“Have you seen the size of Russia? Have you seen the size of the US? And the size of T&T? We’ll stay non-interventionist and non -interfering.”
Young said T&T’s position has not jeopardised its relations with the US.
He said he met a delegation from the US Delaware National Guard - including generals - yesterday on assistance for disaster preparedness plans in T&T. Talks did not touch on Venezuela, he said, “We’re protecting T&T’s sovereignity and a part of that, is that you make your own decisions.”
Young said T&T holds itself available to assist - via hosting discussions - in resolving the situation in whatever way the Venezuelan people want to resolve it, “It’s up to the Venezuelan people.”
The Minister said Government’s decision not to get involved in a neighbours’ internal politics and policies was carefully thought out and had applied consistently since the invasion of the Bay of Pigs in Cuba in the 1960s and the 1983 coup in Grenada.
He said Government’s position doesn’t mean Government isn’t concerned about what’s occurring in Venezuela.
“How we react to our concern is what is different. We’re quite concerned about what goes on. We want things to end peacefully - but we do have relations with the Venezuelan people and those relations go beyond a government. We’re not going to play any interventionist role nor will we take any such basket. At the end of the day the Venezuelan people will decide,” he said.
Young urged commentators to read Venezuela’s Constitution to determine what occurs in these circumstances.