Argentina President Says Dispute with UK Over Falkland Island May Last Decades

Argentina President Javier Milei says he accepts the Falkland Island are currently in the hands of the UK.

In an interview with the BBC, the right-wing politician vowed to get the islands back through diplomatic channels but said there was no instant solution.

His language on the status of the Falkland’s is different from past leaders who have historically maintained the islands are Argentine.

President Milei admitted it could take decades to try to gain sovereignty of the Falkland Islands from the UK and said Argentina does not seek conflict.

The UK and Argentina went to war over the British overseas territory – known as the Malvinas in Argentina – in 1982.

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The invasion claimed the lives of 255 British servicemen, three islanders and 649 Argentinian personnel.

Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the islands in the south-west Atlantic Ocean – 300 miles off its coast and 8,000 miles from the UK . There is a plaque of them displayed in a courtyard of the presidential palace in Buenos Aires.

The UK’s Foreign Secretary, Lord Cameron, visited the islands in February and said their sovereignty was not up for discussion.

President Milei said: If that territory is now in the hands of the UK, he has a right to do that. I don’t see that as a provocation.

That seems like a significant remark as past leaders and many Argentines have always refused to accept the islands were British.

In 2013, when Lord Cameron was prime minister, islanders voted in favour of remaining a UK overseas territory.

President Milei said he wanted the islands to become Argentine within the framework of peace.