A UK/Falklands-Argentina meeting of the South Atlantic Scientific Sub-Committee scheduled for January is “unlikely” to take place, the Falklands lawmaker MLA Teslyn Barkman told Penguin News. The prospect of this happening and “taking Britain out of the comfort zone enjoyed” until now, had been advanced by Mercopress.
The UK Government position is unchanged: only the Falkland Islanders have the right to determine their own political and economic future, stated Phillip Hammond in Buenos Aires where he attended a two-day G20 ministers meeting.
Argentina believes that the new climate in bilateral relations with the United Kingdom, started in 2016, will enable to advance in areas of common interest, particularly in the South Atlantic, and will signify the appropriate framework for the resumption of negotiations on the Malvinas Islands question, according to the terms established by United Nations resolutions.
Foreign minister Susana Malcorra is scheduled to attend the Argentine Senate next Wednesday morning to expand on the recent Argentina/UK joint statement, particularly the South Atlantic chapter which deals with the Falkland Islands and alleged softening of the Argentine sovereignty claim.
The chair of Argentina's Lower House Foreign Affairs Committee Elisa Carrió has supported president Mauricio Macri's nonnegotiable stance on the Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty dispute and attributed the Argentina/UK joint statement controversy to minor questions of communication, nevertheless she summoned deputy foreign minister Carlos Foradori to Congress next Wednesday.