NEW DELHI: Argentine President Javier Milei reaf- ¿rmed Argentina’s claim to sovereignty over the islands known to Britain as the Falklands and to Argentines as the Malvinas, calling it a key issue for his nation and urging the parties to find a “peaceful solution” as tensions with London over the disputed archipelago grow.
“The Malvinas for us is a national cause,” Milei, a strong ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, said on September 23 while addressing the UN General Assembly in New York.
Milei has recently stepped up his efforts to draw attention back to the islands after facing some criticism of his strengthening ties with Britain and his professed admiration for Margaret Thatcher, who in 1982 led the British campaign to retake the archipelago during the Falklands War.
Following Argentina’s invasion of the Falklands under the country’s then-military dictatorship, Thatcher sent a task force all the way down the Atlantic and retook the islands after just 73 days of Argentine control. The war killed 649 Argentine and 255 British troops.
Milei accused the United Nations of failing to enforce international resolutions that urge the parties to “refrain from introducing unilateral changes while the dispute remains unresolved.” He also called on Britain to resume negotiations to “find a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute.” British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK’s position is “clear” and that it will “stand ¿rm” in the face of any threats.
