MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine government picks on Swire interview to attack opposition leaders

Capitanich accused Massa and Macri of being 'more flexible' with the UK regarding Malvinas policy

Argentine cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich claimed that UK's preference to talk about the Falklands/Malvinas dispute with opposition presidential hopefuls, clearly means that “these leaders are willing to a greater flexibility regarding foreign interests in the dispute”.

 Capitanich picked on Foreign Office State minister Hugo Swire statements regarding the future of the Falklands, to attack two of the leading opposition presidential hopefuls, Sergio Massa, mayor of Tigre and a dissident from the ruling coalition and conservative Mauricio Macri governor of the City of Buenos Aires.

Acknowledgement from the parties, does not make evidence necessary, said Capitanich Friday morning during his daily press conference, when asked about Minister Swire statements in Montevideo to the Argentine government official news agency Telam in which he was quoted as using the word “flexibility”.

According to the Argentine version, Swire considered that the opposition’s Massa and Macri would have a “more realistic and mature” vision over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands dispute than the Kirchnerite administration.

Capitanich insisted that UK hopes for “flexibility” in the bilateral row with the opposition leaders pretends to deny the fact that the government of Cristina Fernandez continues to call the coalition government of British Prime Minister David Cameron to abide by UN resolutions that urge both parties to hold talks over the sovereignty of the Islands.

Nevertheless the Foreign Office official pointed out that the UK is willing to work constructively with the Argentine government in several shared areas of interest as long as this does not affect the rights and wishes of the Falkland Islanders, and was hopeful this would effectively happen.

And more specifically on the Argentine elections, Mr. Swire did not make differences among candidates nor did he express preference for any one in particular.

“What really matters is to establish a working solid relation to the benefit of both countries”.

But he also pointed out that any future talks will have three sides since the Falkland Islanders in last year's referendum clearly and overwhelmingly expressed what they want from the future.