After stating the obvious at PMQs this week — that the Falklands would remain
sovereign British territory as long as they want to be — David Cameron has come under heavy fire from the Argentine President, Cristina Kirchner. As today’s papers report, she yesterday described our PM as “arrogant,” and said his comments were an
“expression of mediocrity and almost of stupidity”. But there is nothing new in the British position, which has always been that there can be no negotiations over sovereignty unless and
until such a time as the Falkland Islanders so wish.
The issue has recently heated up after the United States sided with Argentina in demanding that Britain open negotiations over the status of the Falkland Islands, joining such stalwart allies as Nicaragua and Venezuela. The OAS declaration uses the Argentinean name for the Falklands, the Malvinas Islands, and calls for exploring “all possible avenues towards a peaceful settlement of the dispute,” and resuming sovereignty negotiations “as soon as possible.”
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