Javier Milei renews Argentina's Malvinas claim, urges talks at UN
Argentine President Javier Milei has renewed Argentina's claim over the islands Britain calls the Falklands and Argentina calls the Malvinas, describing the issue as central to his country and urging a "peaceful solution" to the sovereignty dispute. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, he said the matter also tested the UN's ability to enforce its own resolutions.
Milei's remarks came as tensions with Britain have sharpened in recent weeks, with both sides restating their positions during the high-profile diplomatic week at the UN. While Milei called for negotiations to resume, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK's position was "clear" and that it would "stand firm".
Addressing the General Assembly, Milei said, "The Malvinas for us is a national cause." He accused the United Nations of failing to enforce international resolutions that urge the parties to "refrain from introducing unilateral changes while the dispute remains unresolved". He also called on Britain to resume negotiations to "find a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute".
Milei said, "The Malvinas issue is not merely a matter between Argentina and the United Kingdom; it is also a question regarding this organisation's ability to enforce its own resolutions." He added, "Today I come to say that Argentina will not sit and wait for the UN and the international community to live up to their own mandate." He also attacked the world body, accusing it of becoming "a useless organisation that serves only to feed a caste of fatally arrogant parasites masquerading as well-intentioned bureaucrats."
He has stepped up his focus on the islands after facing criticism over closer ties with Britain and his admiration for Margaret Thatcher, who led the British campaign to retake the archipelago during the 1982 Falklands War. After Argentina invaded the Falklands under the country's then military dictatorship, Thatcher sent a task force to the South Atlantic and retook the islands after 73 days of Argentine control. The war killed 649 Argentine and 255 British troops.
Earlier this month, Milei raised the dispute further by promising new measures to stop an oil project near the British-controlled archipelago and by praising US President Donald Trump for saying Washington could reconsider its neutral stance on the islands' sovereignty. Last week, his government introduced a wide-ranging security Bill that would increase sanctions on companies exploiting resources around the islands without Argentine authorisation, create a national security council chaired by Milei and expand the military's role in protecting critical Argentine infrastructure.
Against that backdrop, Burnham also addressed the dispute this week after a meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the UN. He said the UK's position was "clear" and that it would "stand firm" in the face of any threats. "We will defend the right of the Falkland Islanders to self-determination and to remain British," Burnham told reporters late on Tuesday.
In August, Trump said he was reviewing the United States' neutral position on the South Atlantic archipelago while criticising Britain for not doing enough to support the US war against Iran. The islands, home to about 3,500 people, lie around 300 miles east of Argentina's south-east coast and have been a British overseas territory since 1833. In a 2013 referendum, 99.8 per cent of voters backed remaining a British overseas territory, with only three votes against.
The latest exchanges at the UN have underlined the sharp divide over the islands, with Milei pressing Argentina's sovereignty claim and seeking talks, and Britain repeating that it will defend the islanders' right to remain British.
