Argentine has reiterated its determination to regain sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
Britain and Argentina fought a war over the islands between April and June 1982, after Buenos Aires ordered its army to invade.
Although fighting lasted just over two months, the war claimed the lives of 649 Argentinians and 255 British soldiers.
Ever since tensions have remained high between the two countries, with the UK insisting the islands’ sovereignty is not up for discussion.
However, on Monday Argentina’s government once again raised the topic during a public holiday known as the “Day for the Affirmation of Argentine Rights over the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands”.
President Javier Milei reminded the nation that the country’s constitution explicitly calls for the reunification of the Falklands with Argentina.
The Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the same day calling for negotiations over the Falklands.
They insisted that Argentina wants to maintain cordial relations with the UK and to create “a common agenda in areas and issues of mutual interest”.
Yet they complained that the UK refuses to engage with Buenos Aires despite repeated invitations by Argentina to open discussions.
Milei haș provoked the UK on a number of occasions over the Falklands, in particular during his election campaign.
In a TV debate leading up to the elections, he insisted that Argentina’s sovereignty over the islands were non-negotiable and that the “Malvinas were Argentinian”.
Later he told La Nación daily newspaper that the UK should hand back the islands to Argentina in the same way it returned Hong Kong to China.
The UK’s Foreign Secretary, Lord Cameron, visited the islands in February and said their sovereignty was not up for discussion.
The defence secretary, Grant Shapps, said on X that it was “non-negotiable and undeniable” that the Falkland Islands were British.
He added: “99.8 percent of islanders voted to remain British and we will always defend their right to self-determination and the UK’s sovereignty.”