BY JUHEL BROWNE, Trinidad Guardian

Barbados did not plan to negotiate any fishing or maritime border agreements with T&T yesterday, a Barbados Ministry of Foreign Affairs source has disclosed.

The source said even if the T&T delegation had arrived yesterday, "any meeting that would have taken place, they would have been on different aspects" other than the fishing and maritime border disputes.

The T&T team led by Public Administration Minister Dr Lenny Saith would have discussed Barbados' claim to fish in Tobago waters.

Barbados has also challenged T&T's delimitation agreement with Venezuela which it says infringes on its and Guyana's maritime rights.

The source said since the Barbados government decided to have the maritime dispute heard before a tribunal, "all previous negotiations are suspended."

The source said the tribunal would consist of arbiters to be agreed to by both sides under the UN Convention of the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Hence, Barbados is not taking T&T before the United Nations or the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, as initially reported in the media.

The source said Barbados intended to negotiate "the administrative and practical aspects dealing with the setting up of the ad-hoc tribunal."

The source also said as of 6 pm yesterday, the Barbados Foreign Affairs Ministry was still waiting for a response to an official note it sent to its T&T counterpart around 11 am about discussing how to set up the tribunal.

The source said the Barbados note conveyed that country's position on the exclusion of the fishing and maritime border disputes.

The source said the T&T Foreign Affairs Ministry sent its note about the delegation's visit to the Barbados Foreign Affairs Ministry at 8 pm Tuesday.

The Barbados Foreign Affairs Ministry offices were closed at 4 pm and officials there were only able to respond to the T&T note yesterday morning, the source said.

Last night, TV6 News reported Barbados' Attorney General and Deputy Prime Minister Mia Mottley said the time for diplomacy may have come to an end. TV6 News also reached Prime Minister Patrick Manning who only said, "I am getting out of the public discussions."