PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA

During a press conference at United Nations Headquarters this afternoon, the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez Frias, expressed the sincere hope that the war against terrorism would evolve into a war against wars.  In the aftermath of the tragic events of 11 September, the struggle for peace must be a priority. 

President Chavez told correspondents that ultimately, the only way the international community could forge a genuine global peace was by agreeing to tackle the root causes of violence, such as poverty, marginalization and hunger.

He added that, as with any battle against criminal activity, preventive measures against terrorism should always be taken within the framework of the promotion and protection of human rights.  Indeed, that was the democratic approach, reflective of the mandate of the United Nations and echoed in the voices of millions of people all over the world, he said.

Responding to a question as to whether a similar statement he had made earlier in the week had been misinterpreted by the United States Government, President Chavez reiterated that his view was based on a democratic approach.  After discussing the comments with representatives from Washington, he added, the matter was now behind him.  Right from the start, Venezuela had vowed to support the struggle against terrorism.  The country had followed up that vow with a series of initiatives undertaken in cooperation with the United States, he said, including investigating and monitoring flows of capital and other intelligence activities.

When asked about the relationship between the economic slowdown and the price of oil, he said for the past three years his Government had emphasized the need to achieve a balance between supply and demand.  If such a balance could be achieved, the volatility in oil prices the world had experienced could be avoided in the future.  He had pledged to make every effort to counter feelings of uncertainty about oil price structures, not only among major oil producers, but among major consumers around the world. 

In 1998, during the first year of his presidency, he had visited all members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), including Iraq, and had defended the notion of achieving stable oil price structures while still being able to realize the shared goal of all producing countries to guarantee an oil supply to the world.  While such a consensus had been difficult to reach, he said, OPEC nations had proposed a range of oil prices -- perhaps between $22 and $28 a barrel -- in order to seek a balance.  That goal appeared to have been achieved, as the average price of Venezuelan oil had been about $21 a barrel, and other OPEC oil priced a little higher.

President Chavez added that after 11 September, demand had decreased and the price of oil had dropped sharply.  In recent talks with OPEC nations and other major oil producers, he had proposed a cut in production.  He believed that OPEC could conceivably cut its production within the next few days.  Other oil-producing countries, such as Russia, Norway and Mexico, had been asked to at least

guarantee they would not increase their production in recognition of a current oversupply in the market of some 1.5 million barrels of oil.  Some of those countries had pledged to cooperate with others.  That was a sign that broad fair-pricing structures could be achieved and sustained. 

Even though new technologies and drilling techniques and extraction, refining and shipping processes continued to put pressure on oil prices, increases were not necessarily reflective of the cost of fuel, gasoline or related products that reached consumers.  He said that the main issue that affected the economy was the processing taxes that consuming countries made their own citizens pay.  No one could say that OPEC was responsible for contributing to the current economic downturn. 

Noting Venezuela's heightened international profile, a correspondent wondered about the President's future plans.  He said that as the Chairman of the G-15, he was preparing for the up-coming summit in Caracas.  He had called for the creation of a committee to follow up on the outcome of that meeting.  He would also continue to promote the North-South dialogue, as well as South-South cooperation.  The G-15 needed to be revitalized, he added.  Many meetings had been held with the members of the Group, as well as those of the “Group of 77” developing countries and the Group of 8.  At the same time, he said, as world leaders travelled from summit to summit and meeting to meeting, they must be aware of how much money was being spent and how much real good came out of it.  Just as the world expected candid dialogue among global leaders, it also expected concrete results. 

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