UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday that the world body expects all governments to handle airspace disputes through established international legal mechanisms, stressing that issues involving flight safety and sovereignty must be resolved peacefully.

The remarks follow a sharp escalation provoked by Washington, after US President Donald Trump urged all airlines on November 29 to treat Venezuelan airspace as closed, a directive that exceeded existing FAA advisories and raised concerns internationally about whether the United States was attempting to impose an extraterritorial restriction on another nation’s sovereign skies.

"I mean, we've seen the reports about the airspace, and I can tell you ... that we call for the full respect ... of states' obligations under international law, including the Charter and all other applicable legal frameworks, as well as the use of existing mechanisms to address any issue, including these issues, peacefully, ensuring the safety and security and connectivity of international civil aviation," Dujarric told journalists.

Dujarric added that political declarations do not override aviation procedures, noting that decisions on airspace management must be directed to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). When asked whether the UN had requested further clarification from Washington, he replied, "We don't have any further details. Our friends in ICAO are taking the lead on that. Our staff remains in Venezuela."

Airspace Sovereignty Dispute

Venezuela denounced the US statement as a violation of its territorial rights and accused Washington of issuing "a threat of the use of force." Caracas called on both the UN and ICAO to condemn the move, arguing that only Venezuelan authorities, in line with international aviation law, can determine the status of the country's skies.

The US call came on top of earlier unilateral aviation restrictions and sanctions that have already disrupted commercial flights to and from Venezuela. Officials in Caracas argue that these actions have nothing to do with safety; rather, they form part of a broader strategy designed to isolate Venezuela economically and politically. The government maintains that such measures represent an abuse of power that the international community should refuse to legitimize.

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