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British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands just isn’t up for negotiation, Downing Street has mentioned after Argentinian president Javier Milei declared that the territory “will become Argentine again”.
The libertarian chief, who idolises Margaret Thatcher, mentioned Sir Keir Starmer’s determination handy the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has proven the trail for Argentina to claim sovereignty over the Falklands “in the long term”.
But, hitting back at the claim on Tuesday, Sir Keir’s official spokesman mentioned: “Sovereignty of the Falkland Islands is not up for negotiation.”
He added that the Chagos Islands instance was a “unique agreement based on its unique history and circumstances”. “It has no bearing on other overseas territories, it is an agreement that protects the long-term secure operation of the UK-US base, which plays such a crucial role in regional and international security,” the spokesman added.
It got here as Argentina’s international minister Diana Mondino mentioned the nation is able to restart flights to the Falkland Islands, with Mr Milei adopting a extra conciliatory method with the UK over the territory.
Flights have been suspended in the course of the pandemic, and by no means resumed resulting from frosty relations between Britain and Argentina. But Ms Mondino mentioned “the conditions are in place” to restart flights.
And, in an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Milei mentioned stronger diplomatic ties with Britain was key to Argentina taking sovereignty over the Falklands.
Referencing negotiations over the Chagos Islands, Mr Milei mentioned: “By that mechanism, we believe that in the long term [the islands] will become Argentine again.”
He added: “If you are in conflict, you are not going to make any progress… with what the previous government was doing, they were never going to be Argentine again.”
The Falklands are about 8,000 miles from Britain and 300 miles from mainland Argentina, and most Falkland Islanders are of British descent.
Argentina has lengthy claimed sovereignty over the islands, often known as Islas Malvinas in Argentina, which have been the topic of a bloody battle in 1982 when Argentine president Leopoldo Galtieri sought to take management of them by power.
The conflict claimed the lives of 255 British servicemen, three islanders and 649 Argentinian personnel.
UK ministers have repeatedly cited the outcomes of a 2013 referendum which noticed near 100% of voters on the islands, which have a inhabitants of about 3,500, decide to stay a British Overseas Territory.
The newest flare-up in the dispute got here after the UK mentioned this month it had reached a political settlement with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands, also referred to as the British Indian Ocean Territory, following negotiations which started in 2022.
Mauritius will assume sovereignty over the archipelago whereas the joint US-UK navy base stays on Diego Garcia, the most important of the islands.
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