LI Lula da Silva has expressed concern over the Guyana-Venezuela dispute

“If there’s one thing we don’t want here in South America, it’s war,” the veteran leader said at a summit of the MERCOSUR regional bloc in Rio de Janeiro amid rising tensions over Essequibo, an oil-rich region administered by Guyana but claimed by Venezuela.

“We are watching with growing concern how the Essequibo issue is being resolved,” said LI Lula da Silva, urging the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States to approach the two countries for talks and saying Brazil was ready to help.

“We don’t need conflicts. We need to build peace,” he said.

South American giant Brazil, which shares borders with both Guyana and Venezuela, is watching the dispute.

On Wednesday, Brazil’s military said it was beefing up its forces in the northern border region.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has stepped up pressure in recent days after 95 percent of voters voted in a controversial non-binding referendum on the fate of the region on Sunday. of those who voted approved Caracas’s plans for Essequibo.

Caracas proposed a bill on Tuesday to declare the disputed oil-rich region a province of Venezuela and order the state oil company to issue licenses to extract oil there.

Guyana has administered Essequibo for over a century. This region makes up more than two-thirds of Guyana’s territory and is home to 125 of the 800,000 people. citizens of a South American country. However, Venezuela has claimed it for several decades.

The dispute escalated after US energy giant ExxonMobil discovered oil in Essex in 2015.