THE Falkland Islands are British, Argentina’s leader dramatically admitted in an interview.
President Javier Milei said the Falklands were “in the hands of the United Kingdom” and that Argentina was not “seeking a conflict.”
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In an interview that broke with previous comments from previous leaders, Milei also praised former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher – Britain’s leader during the 1982 war – as “brilliant”.
Right-wing Milei spoke to the BBC from a presidential palace where Maggie’s memorabilia was apparently on display.
But he did promise to find a “road map” that would lead to the islands becoming Argentine.
However, President Milei also criticized politicians who “beat their chests demanding the sovereignty of the islands, but without any results.”
Argentina invaded the Malvinas in April 1982, causing a conflict that cost the lives of 255 British soldiers, 649 Argentines and three islanders.
President Milei admitted that he admired Mrs Thatcher, who ordered the torpedoing of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano during the war, killing all 323 people on board.
He said: “Criticizing someone because of their nationality or race is very intellectually precarious. I have listened to many speeches by Margaret Thatcher. She was brilliant. “So what is the problem?”
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron visited the southwest Atlantic islands (300 miles from Argentina and 8,000 from the UK) in February and decreed that their sovereignty was not up for debate.
President Milei added: “If that territory is now in the hands of the United Kingdom, it has the right to do so. “I don’t see it as a provocation.”
The observation seems significant since previous leaders have always insisted that the islands are Argentine.
President Milei said he wanted the Malvinas to become Argentine “within the framework of peace.”
He added: “We are not going to give up our sovereignty nor are we going to seek a conflict with the United Kingdom.
“Maybe they don’t want to negotiate today. At some later point they may want to do it. Many positions have changed over time.”
Argentina’s previous leader, leftist Alberto Fernández, called the islands “stolen land.”
Britain established a dependency on the Falklands in 1834.
The locals lived in peace until the shocking Argentine invasion in April 1982.
The United Kingdom sent troops around the world in a large mobilization and forced Argentine forces to abandon the islands in a 10-week war.
The territory is now under British protection.
In an internationally recognized referendum in 2013, 99.8 percent of voters chose to keep the Falklands as a British overseas territory.
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