Argentine President engages UN chief in talks on Falkland Islands

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
19 Sep 2023 09:58

Argentina's President reiterates keen interest in a good office mission aimed at resuming negotiations to peacefully resolve the sovereignty dispute with the UK regarding the Falkland Islands.

Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez in Beunos Aires (AFP)

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez brought up the matter of the Falkland Islands' sovereignty during a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as per the presidential press office.

"President Alberto Fernandez held a meeting tonight in New York with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, with whom he discussed challenges at the global and regional level. In this regard, the head of state reiterated Argentina's interest in the good offices' mission to resume negotiations to find a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute with the United Kingdom over the Malvinas [Falklands] Islands. Guterres pledged to demand that the UK comply with UN resolutions," the office said.

Situated just over 480 km from the Argentine coast, the Malvinas Islands are located in the South Atlantic Ocean.

In March, Argentina took the decision to withdraw from a cooperation pact with the United Kingdom and called for new talks with London to discuss the sovereignty of the disputed Malvinas Islands, a move that drew intense criticism from the UK government. In response, UK Foreign Minister James Cleverly claimed the Falkland Islands are British.

In July, UK's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak slammed the EU for its "regrettable choice of words" as it appeared to support Argentina's naming for the Falkland Islands, which Argentina refers to as the Malvinas Islands.

The Argentinian-backed declaration that used the name Islas Malvinas alongside the Falkland Islands was used at a conference in Brussels.

At the time, UK officials asked the EU to "clarify" its position, while Argentina praised the declaration as a "diplomatic triumph" following a summit of EU leaders with counterparts from the CELAC group of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The big picture

Argentina and the UK have a protracted disagreement regarding who possesses sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. In 1982, a conflict erupted between the two nations, enduring for multiple weeks and resulting in the loss of 255 British soldiers, three island residents, and 649 Argentines.

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.