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An Argentina government official expressed the country's hope that the EU recognizes the existence of its sovereignty dispute with the United Kingdom over the disputed Malvinas Islands.
According to a government official, Argentina expects the European Union to recognize its sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands' with the United Kingdom, but without becoming the only matter on its dialogue with the bloc.
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"We hope that the EU will recognize the existence of a sovereignty dispute (...) and that the EU will encourage dialogue and negotiation," said Mariano Carmona for the AFP news agency, the Argentine Foreign Ministry's Secretary for Malvinas, Antarctica, and the South Atlantic. "The international community (...) insists that sovereignty negotiations be re-established between Argentina and the United Kingdom," disclosed the official.
During the summit, Carmona clarified that Argentina's talks on the dispute are not "the only agenda we have with the EU," even though the issue is "a foreign policy priority" for the Latin American country. The official was at the Belgian capital for a series of meetings with MEPs and European Commission officials, in which he said he encouraged scientific research programs on oceanic and Antarctic matters," as well as research studies on the subject of climate change impact and fisheries.
In 1965 the UN released a resolution requesting Argentina and the UK to negotiate over the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands, disputed since 1833. The UK has refused to establish negotiations with Argentina under the pretext that the islands' population voted overwhelmingly in a referendum in 2013 in favor of retaining membership of the British crown.
The Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom reiterated its support for Argentina’s claim to sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands. https://t.co/n4VxlySaqw
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) February 8, 2022
According to London, any negotiation to be held must be approved by the islands' inhabitants, an argument rejected by Buenos Aires. In 1982, Argentina and the UK had a short war which resulted in three locals being killed.
Citing declassified documents, Argentina claimed that British forces deployed 31 offensive nuclear devices during that conflict. Respecting the EU, the agreements reached with the UK governing the post-Brexit trade relationship no longer apply to British overseas territories, including the Islands.
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