News   /   Foreign Policy   /   Interviews

‘UK not to compromise on Falklands’

UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon (AFP image)

A British political analyst says London will never compromise on the territorial dispute with Argentina over Malvinas Islands known as the Falklands to Britons.

“The official line is that the new administration in Buenos Aires in Argentina has opened the possibility of some settlement talks on the Falklands, but the British government is not going to retreat on Britain’s sovereignty over the Falkland Islands,” Chris Bambery told Press TV on Wednesday.

“Certainly, the British government is not going to compromise on the Falklands…I think Michael Fallon knows that. That’s why he said that Jeremy Corbyn is a greater danger to the British control over the Falklands than Argentina at the moment," he added.

British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon has already criticized comments by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn that the sovereignty of the islands should be up for negotiation.

“The biggest threat at the moment isn’t Argentina, it’s Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party who want to override the wishes of the islanders,” Fallon told the Daily Telegraph.

“The issue is how we improve relationships with rest of South America and we have the election of a new government in Argentina that may open the door to that,” he noted.

The comments follow British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon’s recent visit to the disputed territory.

During his visit, the first by a British defense secretary in more than decade, Fallon expressed hope that the recent election of Mauricio Macri as Argentina’s president would open the door for better ties between London and Buenos Aires.

Argentina’s new President Mauricio Macri has already voiced interest in starting “a new era” in relations with Britain. However, he has made clear that he would maintain Argentina’s claim over the islands.

The remote islands have been the source of tension between Britain and Argentina.

The two countries fought a bloody war back in 1982 which claimed 917 lives, including 649 Argentine soldiers.

File image of Argentine veterans of 1982 Malvinas War (Falklands) (AFP image)

Argentina says that it inherited the islands from Spain when it declared independence. It argues that Britain forcibly took the islands has been occupying the territory since then.

Britain says the islanders themselves should decide whether to remain under British rule.

Back in 2013, majority of the islanders voted in favor of the disputed islands remaining British territory.

Argentina has rejected the referendum as a British maneuver which lacks legal value.

The Malvinas Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean. They are  situated nearly 500 kilometers east of Argentina’s coast.

 


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku