MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

European countries can’t influence UK Falklands’ decisions, admits Spain

Spanish Foreign Secretary Trinidad Jimenez at the Mar del Plata summit

In spite of the fact that the Ibero-American leaders’ summit last weekend in Mar del Plata approved a document in support of Argentina’s sovereignty claims over the Falklands/Malvinas and other South Atlantic islands, Spain admitted European countries can not influence London’s decisions.

“We have signed the final (Mar del Plata) declaration as has been traditional in the summits rounds but let me be clear that as European countries we do not have the capacity to change the United Kingdom’s decision. The issue must be solved in the context of United Nations”, said Spanish Foreign Affairs minister Trinidad Jiménez.

Previous to Ms Jimienez statement Spain and Portugal, that make up the Ibero-American space had subscribed the document which calls for the resumption of sovereignty talks on Falklands/Malvinas between the United Kingdom and Argentina plus calling on London to abstain from any unilateral hydrocarbons exploration in the Islands. It also seriously condemned military exercises particularly involving the adjoining maritime spaces.

The official document on the so-called “Islas Malvinas question” reaffirms “the need for Argentina and the UK to resume, as soon as possible, negotiations leading to find a solution to the sovereignty dispute over the Islas Malvinas, Georgias del Sur and Sandwich del Sur and the adjoining maritime spaces”.

In the following paragraph it refers to the “unilateral exploration and exploitation actions of renewable and non renewable resources which the UK has been involved in the disputed area”.

The document also mentions “the calls from the international community for the UK to abstain from adopting decisions that entail unilateral modifications of the current Islas Malvinas situation in conformity with Resolution31/49 from the UN General Assembly, which do not contribute at all to find a definitive solution to the territorial dispute”.

Finally the military exercises by forces from the UK including firing missiles from the land territory of the Islas Malvinas, counters the full abidance of maritime security regulations from the International Maritime organization.

These exercises are incompatible with the pursuant policy of searching for a peaceful solution of the territorial controversy between the governments of Argentina and the UK, states the Ibero-American summit document.