MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mercosur presidential summit can't forget support for Argentina's claim over the Falklands

Argentine president Alberto Fernández next to foreign minister Felipe Solá during the video summit

Mercosur full-member presidents and their associate peers backed Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands in the framework of the 56th Heads of State summit, which took place in Paraguay through a video conference when the pro tempore chair was delivered by Brazil to Uruguay for the second half of 2020.

The declaration drafted on Thursday was backed by the governments of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, plus Mercosur associate members, Bolivia, Chile and Colombia.

Item 32 of the final declaration states the reaffirmation of the terms of the Declaration of Potrero de las Funes, held in Argentina in 1996, which at the time was supported by Mercosur full members, plus Bolivia and Chile.

The statement known as the Malvinas Islands Declaration, “iterates the legitimate rights of Argentina in the sovereignty dispute referred to the Malvinas Islands Question”

Item 33 of the Paraguay declaration underlines that the “implementation of unilateral measures is not compatible with what agreed in the UN Assembly”

It also recalls “the regional interest that the prolonged sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom referred to the Malvinas, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands and the adjoining maritime spaces, achieves as soon as possible a solution in conformity with the resolutions from the UN, Organization of American States, Mercosur and other regional and multilateral forae”