Argentina compares British sovereignty of the Falklands with Russian invasion of Ukraine

The Argentine government has angered the United Kingdom by saying Britain has “double standards” for supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression while refusing to negotiate over the Falkland Islands.

The contentious claim was made by Guillermo Carmona, Argentina’s deputy foreign minister for the Antarctic, Malvinas (the name Argentina uses for the Falklands) and South Atlantic, in an interview with The Telegraph, the paper reported on Friday, April 1.

Saturday, April 2, marks the 40th anniversary of the start of the Falklands War.

In the interview Carmona said in both the Falklands and Ukraine there had been an illegal military seizure of the sovereign territory of one state by another.

Carmona said: “The British Government has perhaps been one of the governments that have condemned most vehemently this violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity by Russia – and it’s very good that the British Government does this,” he said. “Argentina has also condemned the situation [in Ukraine].”

“But what is happening is that the British Government, at the same time that it condemns the violation of Ukrainian territorial integrity, has persistently maintained, for 189 years, a violation of the territorial integrity of Argentina.”

The Telegraph reports that a source in contact with Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, said the politician considered Carmona´s comparison as “utterly spurious”.

The Telegraph´s source added: “She supports the right of countries to self-determination, which is exactly what the Ukrainians are fighting for, and exactly what the Falkland Islanders did when they voted overwhelmingly to remain a UK overseas territory.”

A Foreign Office spokesperson added that the Government has “no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.”

In a tweet on Saturday Liz Truss said: “Today marks the 40th anniversary of the illegal invasion of the Falkland Islands.

“We remember with sadness the more than 900 lives lost in the Falklands War.

“The Falklands are part of the British family and we will always defend their right to self determination.”

The UK has consistently refused to negotiate with Argentina over sovereignty of the Falklands; it argues that the 3,200 Falkland Islanders have a right to self-determination.

In a 2013 referendum, 99.8 per cent of the islands´ electorate voted to remain a British territory.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.