Argentina Wants To Resume Negotiations with United Kingdom Over Falkland Islands

The government of Argentina has requested the United Kingdom to reopen talks about the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, said Argentine Foreign Ministry Thursday

Argentina has long claimed the British-controlled islands as its own, including during a war in 1982, and its wish to resume discussions is the latest chapter in that lengthy story. Over 600 kilometers separate the islands in the South Atlantic from the Argentine continent.

Following a meeting with his British colleague James Cleverly at a summit in India, Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero "formulated a proposal to restart negotiations for sovereignty over the Falklands Island," according to the Foreign Ministry.

The Argentine government has extended an invitation to the United Kingdom to have a meeting to resolve the dispute before the United Nations, Reuters reported.

Cleverly responded in a tweet: "The Falkland Islands are British. Islanders have the right to decide their future - they have chosen to remain a self-governing UK Overseas Territory."

Argentina's Withdrawal from Falkland Islands Pact Disappoints United Kingdom

Notwithstanding Argentina's withdrawal from a cooperation accord and Argentina's desire for new discussions over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, the British government reiterated on Thursday that the islands would stay British.

During Argentina's 1982 invasion of the islands, which are called the Malvinas in Spanish, a brief but bloody battle ensued. British naval forces successfully repelled the invading assault, Barron's noted.

The two nations settled their differences in 2016, agreeing to disagree on sovereignty while agreeing to work together on matters including energy, shipping, fishing, and identifying the remains of unknown Argentine troops slain in war.

Santiago Cafiero, the foreign minister of Argentina, informed James Cleverly, his counterpart from the United Kingdom, that his country was leaving the agreement during the G20 summit in New Delhi.

He reaffirmed Argentina's long-standing demands in tweets, urging UN negotiations about the islands' sovereignty instead.

The announcement came while David Rutley, Britain's minister for the Americas, was in Buenos Aires for what he called "productive" negotiations.

"Argentina has chosen to step away from an agreement that has brought comfort to the families of those who died in the 1982 conflict," Rutley tweeted, calling the decision "disappointing."

"Argentina, the UK, and the Falklands all benefited from this agreement," he said.

The 1982 Falkland Islands War Between Argentina and the United Kingdom

During that war, long-simmering tensions between the United Kingdom and Argentina erupted when the South American country launched a military invasion to impose its dominance over the group of islands.

In response, the United Kingdom dispatched its navy. Death tolls from the 10-week war totaled 649 Argentinian servicemen, 255 British troops, and three female civilians, per Al Jazeera.

The government believes that 3,200 individuals from 60 different nations call this archipelago home, located around 600 kilometers (373 miles) off the coast of Argentina. The United Kingdom recognizes the islands as an overseas territory with its government.

A vote on the Falkland Islands' population' choice of staying a British territory was conducted in 2013 to find out their preferences. Almost 99.8 percent of those who voted did so in the affirmative.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: How has the Falklands War changed Argentina, 40 years on? - From BBC News