MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Corbyn favors Falklands' 'power-sharing' deal with Argentina, says ex ambassador Castro

Ms Castro said that Mr Corbyn “shares our concerns”, adding: “In short, he is one of ”ours“.” She described the Labor leader as “humorous” and “a good listener”.

United Kingdom's leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn is in favor of making a power-sharing deal with Argentina over the Falkland Islands, according to an Argentine diplomat. Outgoing Argentine ambassador Alicia Castro says that the Labour leader is “one of ours” and that he told her he supports a British-Argentine power-sharing deal in the vein of Northern Ireland.

 Castro's comments have been reported on by The Telegraph and The Guardian.

In the interview, Ms Castro said that Mr Corbyn “shares our concerns”, adding: “In short, he is one of ”ours“.” She said that he has visited the Argentine embassy in London and described him as “friendly and humorous” and “a good listener”.

“He is saying that dialogue [is] possible and that attitudes are beginning to change, that what was achieved in Northern Ireland can be achieved also here,” Ms Castro said in an interview published on the Argentine embassy’s website.

“His decisive leadership can guide the British public opinion to promote dialogue between the governments of the United Kingdom and Argentina.”

The Falklands have become a persistent source of political tension between Britain and Argentina since Buenos Aires maintains a claim on the Islands' sovereignty, and as such was incorporated to the current 1994 Constitution. However the Falklands are a British Overseas Territory and their residents overwhelming are in favor of staying British according to the results of a March 2013 referendum.

The Labour Party's official policy is that the Falklands continue to be British, in accordance with their residents' wishes. “The Labour Party policy remains that the people of the Falkland Islands have the right to determine their own future,” a spokesperson for the party told The Telegraph.

Hilary Benn, Labour's shadow foreign secretary, is not entertaining the notion of a power-sharing agreement, the spokesperson said. “We are committed to upholding the right of the Falkland Islanders to self-determination, including by ensuring the defense of the Islands. Hilary is not aware of any proposals for what you have called a 'power-sharing deal' in regard to the Falklands.”

But if ex ambassador Castro is to be believed, Corbyn would rather a deal is made that gives Argentina input into the future of the islands. She said: “[Corbyn] is saying that dialogue [is] possible and that attitudes are beginning to change, that what was achieved in Northern Ireland can be achieved also here”.

“His decisive leadership can guide the British public opinion to promote dialogue between the governments of the United Kingdom and Argentina”.

Corbyn, since being elected Labor leader in 2015, has been highly divisive. Membership of the party has skyrocketed — but some of his comments and policy positions have been scrutinized. He has called for a “political solution” in Syria to deal with Jihadist group ISIS — prompting Hilary Benn to publicly disagree with him, and also proposed that Britain's Trident subs nuclear deterrent, should continue patrolling but without warheads.

According to The Telegraph Seumas Milne, now Corbyn’s most senior advisor, has previously attacked the Falklands' referendum vote and called for a “a negotiated settlement with Argentina”.

In a 2013 column for The Guardian, Mr Milne wrote: “Whenever there's a 99.8% yes vote in a referendum, it's a pretty safe bet that something dodgy is going on. And despite David Cameron's insistence that the North Korean-style ballot in the Falkland Islands – or Malvinas as they're known in Argentina – should be treated with “reverence”, that rule of thumb clearly fits the bill in this case.”

Growing numbers of Labour MPs now believe Mr Milne is urging Corbyn to alter Labor’s position on the Falklands.

However, according to The Telegraph this would prompt a major split with Benn. Corbyn unsuccessfully attempted to sack Mr Benn as shadow foreign secretary after he openly opposed the Labour leader’s position on Syria air strikes in a speech in Parliament.

Asked whether Benn would support a plan for a power-sharing deal, a spokesman said: “No. The Labour Party policy remains that the people of the Falkland Islands have the right to determine their own future.”

The spokesman added: “We are committed to upholding the right of the Falkland Islanders to self-determination, including by ensuring the defense of the Islands. Hilary is not aware of any proposals for what you have called a ‘power-sharing deal’ in regard to the Falklands.”

Asked if Mr. Corbyn wants a power-sharing agreement in the Falklands, his spokesman said: “Jeremy has made the case for a dialogue without preconditions.”