Venezuela, Guyana presidents to meet over border row

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his Guyanese counterpart, Irfaan Ali, will meet Thursday on their countries' growing dispute over the oil-rich region of Essequibo, amid mounting international warnings against escalating the row.

The meeting will be held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, according to the Caribbean country's PM Ralph Gonsalves, who said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had also been invited at both sides' request.

Gonsalves said in a letter to Maduro and Ali that the meeting would be held under the auspices of that organisation and another regional body, the Caribbean Community.

The US, Britain, Russia and South American countries have all urged de-escalation and a peaceful solution. afp