St. George’s, June 11, 2010 (GIS) – Venezuela’s top diplomat in Grenada has said there is no arrangement under which Grenada provides accommodation for the Venezuelan ambassador based in St. George’s.
According to His Excellency Carlos Perez, neither does Venezuela provide accommodation for Grenada’s ambassador in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.
Ambassador Perez made the comment Friday following recent public statements from Opposition Leader, Keith Mitchell, who alleged that government was wasting money by paying housing allowance for Grenada’s ambassador in Venezuela.
Dr. Mitchell claimed that his administration, which was voted out of office in 2008, had an agreement in which Venezuela picked up the accommodation cost for Grenada’s ambassador in Caracas. He said his administration returned the favour by meeting the cost of accommodation for Venezuela’s ambassador in St. George’s.
On Monday, the Grenada Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Information both denied any knowledge of such an agreement between Grenada and the Republic of Venezuela.
A Foreign Ministry spokesperson stressed that “Grenada does not provide any accommodation to the Venezuelan ambassador to Grenada, nor does Venezuela provide accommodation for Grenada’s ambassador in Caracas.’’
Junior Information Minister, Senator Arley Gill, described the Opposition Leader as a “pathological prevaricator and an attention-seeker,’’ whose “main preoccupation is the spreading of discord and confusion in the nation.’’
In a comment Friday to the Government Information Service, Ambassador Perez said the Venezuelan buildings in Grenada – the Embassy, the Ambassador’s residence and the Venezuelan Institute for Cultural Cooperation – are all paid for by the government and people of Venezuela.
“We don’t receive any payment or accommodation from the Government of Grenada. And as far as I know,’’ said Mr. Perez, “we don’t have any kind of agreement for payment or accommodation for the Grenada ambassador in Venezuela. I just want to clarify that for the general public.’’
