During a dialogue with former Brazilian foreign ministers Celso Amorim and Aloysio Nunes, on Brazil-Venezuela relations during the pandemic, the People’s Power Minister for Foreign Relations, Jorge Arreaza, ratified on Thursday the Bolivarian Government’s commitment to rebuilding the diplomatic relationship between both nations, beyond political and ideological discrepancies.
In this sense, he asked the former foreign ministers to channel a communication bridge with the current Brazilian Foreign Minister, Ernesto Araújo. “We are happy to move to Brasilia, to the border, wherever he wants, but we believe that bilateral issues must be treated with responsibility and we cannot put ideological differences above our people”, he emphasized.
He stated that despite these differences and the attacks against the country, by the Administration of the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, has always sent a message of dialogue so that in the framework of the health crisis generated by COVID-19, a comprehensive diplomatic relationship is rebuilt.
Dialogue vs. subordination
The Minister of Foreign Relations of Venezuela denounced that unfortunately the Bolsonaro government violates the Charter of the United Nations because not only “interferes in the internal affairs of Venezuela but there have been concrete actions”, for which he recalled the closure of the border with Brazil and Colombia in February 2019, before the threat of the entering by force of an alleged humanitarian aid from these countries.
At that time, he said, there was permanent communication between the Armed Forces of Brazil and Venezuela, which guaranteed security. However, the Venezuelan diplomat showed his concern about the document of the new military doctrine of the Amazonian country, “because there are scenarios of conflict with neighboring countries being evaluated. Why does there have to be an armed conflict between Venezuela and Brazil?”
However, he warned that if the governments of these countries prepare to attack Venezuela, the South American nation “will have to respond. It would be our constitutional obligation, and we don’t want that”, he stressed.
In this sense, the Head of Venezuelan diplomacy agreed with the former Brazilian foreign ministers, who suggested the articulation with instances of civil society and social movements of that country to establish communication networks with political actors, “we will do it immediately (…) but we are also going to insist with the Government” of Brazil.
“I wish we could maintain the dialogue at some level (…) we once again extend the hands of President Maduro and the Venezuelan people to Brazil, its people, its government, its institutions; Colombia, its people, its government, its institutions; to work together for this pandemic and for any situation (…) beyond any difference, which are here today and will be tomorrow, but we have to work on”, he concluded.