Pakistan pushes for restraint, dialogue as US strikes escalate tensions with Venezuela
NEW YORK: Pakistan has called for restraint and dialogue between the United States and Venezuela following reports of American military strikes on boats in the Caribbean, which Washington alleges were transporting drugs.
“We call upon the parties to exercise maximum restraint, to de-escalate tensions, and to refrain from any actions that could further inflame the situation,” Pakistani Ambassador to the United Nations Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told UN Security Council, which met in an emergency session at Venezuela’s request, arguing that the strikes endanger regional stability and threaten its national sovereignty. Venezuela made the request in a letter addressed to Russia’s Ambassador to the U.N. and Council President, Vassily Nebenzia, that accused the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump of seeking to topple Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and threatening “peace, security and stability regionally and internationally.”
Maduro’s government also expressed its expectation of an “armed attack” against Venezuela in “a very short time.” In his remarks, Ambassador Asim Ahmad voiced concern over the heightening tensions in the Caribbean region and said Pakistan firmly believes that for peace to prevail, the path of confrontation and zero-sum approaches must be abandoned. “In an already polarized world and fractured global context that we are witnessing today, it behooves to once again underscore the centrality and inviolability of UN Charter and its core principles, he stressed.
Good-faith dialogue remains the only viable and sustainable tool for resolving differences, the Pakistani envoy stated, joining other speakers in recognizing the serious threats posed by transitional organized crime, and calling for international responses rooted in the principle of “common and shared responsibility” in line with international law. “We encourage the parties to utilize all available diplomatic channels and to seek constructive engagement under the framework of international law, he said, pointing to the availability of UN Secretary-General’s good offices or relevant regional organizations.
Asim again urged all parties to respect the imperative of peaceful coexistence and choose the path of dialogue and cooperation to ensure that this region is indeed a “Zone of Peace”.
Venezuela’s U.N. Ambassador Samuel Moncada said, “The belligerent action and rhetoric of the U.S. government objectively point to the fact that we are facing a situation in which it is rational to anticipate that in the very short term, an armed attack is to be perpetrated against Venezuela.”
Defending U.S. actions, American delegate John Kelley said, “President Trump has been very clear that he is going to use the full power of America, and the full might of the United States, to take on and eradicate these drug cartels, no matter where they’re operating from and no matter now long they have been able to act with impunity.” APP
