And Belize's Ministry of Foreign Affairs put out a statement today welcoming the decision saying it is, quote, "a step forward that advances the process leading to finality of the two sovereignty cases before the ICJ involving Belize, i.e., Guatemala's Territorial, Insular and Maritime Claim and Sovereignty over the Sapodilla Cayes.
Here's what the Foreign Minister told us today:
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs
"Not surprised at all. I mean, as you know, Belize offered no objections to Guatemala joining the case. So our legal team expected that that would be the result. And so we're not surprised at all. And, you know, in, in fact, we the thinking of the legal team is that that is in Belize's interests. That's our objective. We want the integrity of these matters to be resolved."
Reporter
"But people will get jumpy the public because it will be interpreted as a gain for Guatemala before the court."
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs
"That would be a wrong understanding of the outcome of the case. You know, as I said, our legal team made submissions to the court. I would invite people to review those submissions. They were very clear about our position on this matter. We thought it was in the interests of all the parties and, of course, in the interest of Belize that Guatemala join the case so that all these issues can be resolved, once and for all, definitively."
