MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei: Malvinas not a priority

The Libertarian leader praised Thatcher and stressed that the Falklands/Malvinas matter will be a long-term State issue

Argentine President Javier Milei insisted on praising former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and acknowledged that the Falkland Islands were rightfully to remain under British rule.

In an interview with the BBC, the South American leader reckoned that “If that territory is now in the hands of the United Kingdom, it has a right to do so. I don't see it as a provocation.” 

However, he also admitted seeking a “long-term negotiation process in the framework of peace” with Britain. Under Milei,

Argentina is not “going to seek a conflict with the United Kingdom” but at the same time “we are not going to give up our sovereignty” claims.

Milei also called for an “adult discussion” between two countries that have “much in common and an element of discord.”

“It is not an instant solution, but one that is going to demand time. We seek to establish a dialogue so that at some point the Malvinas Islands return to Argentina,” Milei underlined.

“Maybe that the United Kingdom does not want to negotiate today and then, later in time, they will want to do so. I will try to convince them that this territory is Argentine and that -according to the specifications that are usually used to define it in this way- Argentina has the right and sovereignty over the islands,” he explained.

Asked about his view on Baroness Thatcher as a statesperson, Milei replied that “to criticize someone because of their nationality or race is very precarious intellectually.”

“I listened to many of Margaret Thatcher's speeches. She was brilliant. So what's the problem?” He added: “There was a war and we lost. That does not mean that one cannot consider that those who were in front of us were people who did their job well,” the Argentine head of state argued.

Regarding Foreign Secretary David Cameron's trip to the Islands in February just days after meeting with Milei and the ensuing controversy, the Libertarian leader brushed off any allegation against him and downplayed all claims that it was “a provocation.”

“I do not take it as a provocation. In fact, I have a very high-quality dialogue with David Cameron,” Milei stressed.

In addition, he noted that the Falkland/Malvinas Islands were not his administration's main priority. The matter must be understood as a “long-term State issue,” Milei pointed out.

“There is a huge set of elements in common in which we can work with the United Kingdom without having to be discussing and fighting over an issue that we understand that its solution will take time,” he added.

Today “is not the time to discuss it,” Milei went on.

The Argentine President also spoke with the BBC about the conflict between Israel and Gaza: “We defend and support the right to legitimate self-defense of the people of Israel. And Israel conducts its operations according to international rules,” Milei underlined.

“If there is a set of international rules to move within these events and they are respecting it, why should it be questioned?” he elaborated as he ratified his decision to move the Argentine embassy in Israel to West Jerusalem.

Milei also recalled that Buenos Aires had already suffered “two terrorist attacks” linked to Middle East feuds in 1992 and 1994, so siding with Israel in no way further endangered his country because Argentina is already targeted.

“We are on the side of freedom, on the side of the U.S., on the side of Israel and on the side of Western Europe,” Milei affirmed.