Argentina terminates 2016 Falkland Islands pact, UK disappointed

• 

Argentina has asked the United Kingdom to transfer the issue of the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, also known as the Malvinas, to the agenda of the United Nations, the country's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

"[Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago] Cafiero informed [UK Foreign Secretary James] Cleverly that the Argentine government is terminating the joint statement of September 13, 2016, known as the Foradori-Duncan pact," Argentina's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"In addition, the Argentine top diplomat proposed to resume negotiations on the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands and offered to hold a meeting to outline the agenda for negotiations at the UN platform in New York," it added.

Cuestión Malvinas: Argentina notificó la decisión de poner fin al “Pacto Foradori-Duncan” de 2016.

Lo hice en reunión con el Secretario de Estado para las Relaciones Exteriores del Reino Unido, James Cleverly, en la Cumbre de cancilleres del @g20org en Nueva Delhi, India. pic.twitter.com/ZQnwKgKUtI

— Santiago Cafiero (@SantiagoCafiero) March 2, 2023

According to the Ministry, the Foradori-Duncan pact is incompatible with the UN General Assembly resolution, which recommends that both parties refrain from making decisions that entail unilateral changes in the dispute over the Islands' sovereignty.

There is a long-standing dispute between Argentina and the UK concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. In 1982, a war broke out between the countries, which lasted several weeks, claiming the lives of 255 British troops, three islanders, and 649 Argentine personnel.

The Foradori-Duncan pact was concluded in 2016 following the talks between Argentine Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Foradori and his British counterpart, Alan Duncan.

The document, which did not make it through the Argentine Congress, also indicated that the governments at the time of President Mauricio Macri and UK Prime Minister Theresa May planned to strengthen the economic growth and development of the Falklands, including trade, fishing, navigation, and hydrocarbon production.

In 2019, a lawsuit was filed against Macri for handing the Falkland Islands' airspace to the UK government. In a memoir released last year, Duncan said Foradori was drunk while negotiating the pact.

UK response

In response, UK ministers expressed their disappointment following Buenos Aires' recent decision.

Following his meeting with Cafiero on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly claimed that "the Falkland Islands are British."

Cleverly indicated that "islanders have the right to decide their own future – they have chosen to remain a self-governing UK Overseas Territory."

The Falkland Islands are British.

Islanders have the right to decide their own future - they have chosen to remain a self-governing UK Overseas Territory. https://t.co/UTpiyJ74LN

— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) March 2, 2023

UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Americas and Caribbean, David Rutley, considered that "Argentina has chosen to step away from an agreement that has brought comfort to the families of those who died in the 1982 conflict."

"Argentina, the UK, and the Falklands all benefited from this agreement," Rutley added.

A disappointing decision after my constructive visit to Buenos Aires.

Argentina has chosen to step away from an agreement that has brought comfort to the families of those who died in the 1982 conflict.

Argentina, the UK and the Falklands all benefited from this agreement. https://t.co/Tzv5DYRs2v

— David Rutley MP (@DavidRutley) March 2, 2023

Read more: China backs Argentina, British FM says Falkland islands part of 'British family'