MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Taiana: good rapport with Ki-Moon on Malvinas issue

Minister J. Taiana and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon

Argentina formally called on United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon good offices with the purpose of resuming talks with the United Kingdom to help find a peaceful solution to the Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute.

Jorge Taiana met Ki-Moon Tuesday at the United Nations building in New York, the first time the two officials meet since the Korean diplomat was inaugurated in the post last January first. "It was a good meeting, the first since Mr Ki-Moon is in the post and it's very important that Argentina should have underlined the significance that the Malvinas issue has for us", Taiana was quoted by Argentina's official agency news Telam following the meeting. Taiana said he formally requested that Ki-Moon renew his good offices efforts to achieve "the resumption of a dialogue with the United Kingdom", and the UN Secretary General showed "his knowledge of the issue and his best willingness to address it". During the forty minutes meeting Taiana handed Ki-Moon a folder with details of the current relation between Argentina and UK regarding fisheries, oil and air links to the Falklands from the continent. "He listened attentively and said he knew about the issue since we had gone over it when he was South Korea's Foreign Secretary" said Taiana who added Ki-Moon was most interested in details of the 1982 conflict. Argentina's ambassador before United Nations Jorge Mayoral said that Ki-Moon "recognized Argentina's efforts in starting sovereignty talks" in spite of Britain's attitude contrary to sit and talk. Mayoral said it was "irritating that 25 years after the war the Malvinas issue has been unable to move forward", although admitting that the mistakes committed by the military dictatorship can't be amended, after the war the reading of events to advance negotiations "was not the appropriate". According to Telan Ki-Moon congratulated Argentina for its Latinamerican leadership in human rights protection, particularly for having sponsored the convention on forced disappearance of people Argentina is demanding UK, --following on UN declarations--, to begin sovereignty negotiations over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, South Sandwich and the surrounding maritime spaces.