Falkland Islands row erupts as Milei ends sovereignty tiptoeing and demands UK reopen negotiations
The government of Argentina has issued a statement asking for the UK to reopen bilateral negotiations, as the row over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands erupts once more.
The archipelago, located in the South Atlantic, has been regarded by Argentinians as being illegally occupied by the UK for almost 200 years.
In a statement issued today, Buenos Aires said that it intended to restore its sovereignty over the islands.
Argentina said it wanted this to be done via diplomatic means, which the country believes is “the only possible way to restore the exercise of its rights”.
The statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina read: “The government and people of Argentina once again reaffirm, 191 years after the illegal occupation of the Malvinas Islands, their lawful and indefeasible sovereignty rights over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands and their adjacent maritime areas.
“Within this framework, the Argentine Government wishes to maintain a mature relationship with the United Kingdom that involves substantive and constructive dialogue on all matters of mutual interest with a view to building a climate of trust conducive to the resumption of negotiations.”
Upon coming to power, new president Javier Milei has reignited a sovereignty row that has been raging for generations.
In its statement, the foreign affairs department confirmed its “interest in the Good Offices missions” – assigned by the UN General Assembly to the Secretary-General of the United Nations – and maintained it wanted to recommence discussions to “find as soon as possible a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute relating to the Question of the Malvinas Islands”.
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The Falkland Islands were occupied by Britain in January 1833.
Over 150 years later, Argentina attempts to reclaim the archipelago by force, prompting retaliatory action by the UK, known as the Falklands War.
Last week, Milei bemoaned Argentina’s economic woes, describing the situation as “regrettable”.
Speaking on December 23 alongside Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, he warned that Argentina is on the verge of a crisis.
He said: “There is no money. The truth is that they have looted the country.
“They have left us with a consolidated deficit of 15 points of GDP”.
His government has been forced to implement a major fiscal adjustment, equivalent to five per cent of GDP.
Speaking about the changes, he said: “We are confident; the key in our economic program is the savings that the adjustment will generate”, adding that he has also implemented a “counter-proposal of investment.”
Discussing the previous government, Milei said: “They left the country on the verge of what could be the worst crisis in history.”
During his presidential campaign, Milei claimed that Britain returning the Falkland Islands to Argentina was “non-negotiable”, adding that the territory is Argentine.
He called for an agreement similar to the one the UK had with China in Hong Kong, which saw the territory handed over to Chinese control after 1997.