The leaders of Guyana and Venezuela promised in a tense meeting Thursday that neither side would use threats or force against the other, but failed to reach agreement on how to address a bitter dispute over a vast border region rich with oil and minerals that has concerned many in the region.
Instead, a joint commission composed of the foreign ministers of both countries and other officials will address the problem, with a report expected within three months.
Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro agreed to meet again in Brazil within three months or at another agreed-upon time, according to an 11-point declaration read at a press briefing late Thursday at which no questions were allowed.
It goes back further, to when the Dutch gave the territory to the British, and the British decided the territory given to them by the Dutch was bigger than it actually was.