Argentine Foreign Affairs Minister Héctor Timerman received on Wednesday the president of the United Nations General Assembly, Joseph Deiss to discuss “the Malvinas situation, Unasur growing presence and the international financial crisis”, among other global issues.
In an interview with the Buenos Aires Herald, Argentine Defence Minister Arturo Puricelli demands that Falklands’ sovereignty talks must be started before any other issues can be discussed.
Argentina is not going to make things easy for Britain in the Falkland Islands and the first discussion, before any other issues are addressed, must be the legitimacy of the Malvinas Islands sovereignty, said Argentine Defence Minister Arturo Puricelli in a Sunday interview by Carolina Barrios published in the Buenos Aires Herald.
Argentine Veterans of the 1982 conflict want the bodies of the 123 “unknowns” at Darwin cemetery to be identified.
A Centre of Malvinas War Veterans and next of kin presented a petition before a federal court requesting the identification of Argentine combatants buried at the Darwin Cemetery in the Falkland Islands and the circumstances of their death during the South Atlantic conflict in 1982.
Britain can’t go on shielding behind its membership of the UN Security Council to avoid dialogue on the Falklands/Malvinas question, but Argentina is confident “negotiations will take place” said Foreign Affairs minister Hector Timerman in Paris following a meeting with his French peer Alain Juppé.
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said that “Argentina is absolutely committed to peace” and dismissed as “ridiculous” statements from the United Kingdom threatening to use force if needed to preserver the occupation of the Falkland Islands.
The Mercosur presidential summit unanimously supported Argentina’s legitimate sovereignty rights over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands and strongly rejected “regrettable statements” from British Defence Secretary Liam Fox regarding the use of force.
In the midst of Argentina’s campaign for the October presidential election, Defence minister Arturo Puricelli accused the UK of using military force to keep “the Falkland Islanders as hostages” and said Argentina won’t fall prey of “militaristic” provocations.
The verbal escalation between the Argentine and British governments in the Falklands/Malvinas Islands sovereignty issue continued Monday with strong exchange of statements.