The former ambassador of Argentina to the US and China referred to President Javier Milei 's recent statements about the Malvinas; where in an interview with the BBC , Milei acknowledged that the archipelago is “in the hands” of the United Kingdom and has the “right” to be so; and again praising former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher .
In this regard, Güelar believed that the Foreign Ministry - headed by Diana Mondino - should clarify "urgently" whether or not the British government has the right to occupy the islands. Outside of that request, the former diplomat considered, however: “I am convinced that it is out of context. "It doesn't come from the report."
During his time on LN+, he expanded: “In the report Milei says that the United Kingdom occupies the islands. It is a factual fact. None of us ignores it. Now, later, he assures that the United Kingdom has the right to the archipelago. But be careful, that is the middle English version. The President speaks in Spanish. Someone did the translation. Of course, neither the United Kingdom has the right to occupation nor the inhabitants of the Malvinas have the right to self-determination.”
“There is a translation problem. I do not believe that the President said that England has the right to occupy the Malvinas. I can't believe it. It's out of context. If one reads the entire report, this recognition does not arise. But it is put in the words of the President himself. “It would be a very serious precedent ,” he concluded.
What the President said about the Malvinas Islands during the report with the BBC
In dialogue with the English media, the leader of La Libertad Avanza (LLA) said about the archipelago: “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." He clarified, however, that he will seek the recovery of the islands through a “long-term negotiation process within the framework of peace.” “We are not going to renounce our sovereignty, nor are we going to seek a conflict with the United Kingdom,” he stated.
“It is not an instant solution, but one that will take time. We seek to establish a dialogue so that at some point the Malvinas Islands return to Argentina,” he reflected. And he considered: “It may be that the United Kingdom today does not want to negotiate it and later, later in time, they do want to do so. "I am going to try to convince them that this territory is Argentine and that Argentina has the right and sovereignty over the islands."
Along the same lines, the President was asked about his view of Thatcher, and said: “Criticizing someone because of their nationality or race is very intellectually precarious. I listened to many speeches by Margaret Thatcher. She was brilliant. So what is the problem?". And he added: “There was a war and we had to lose. That does not mean that one cannot consider that those who were in front were people who did their jobs well.”
He also took the opportunity to refer to the visit to the islands by British Chancellor David Cameron that took place in February of this year and that generated great controversy and a shower of criticism towards the official and towards Milei himself, with whom he had held a meeting weeks ago. before. The Argentine president dismissed the accusations and ruled out that Cameron's trip was a "provocation." “That territory today is in the hands of the United Kingdom, that is, it has every right to do so. I don't take it as a provocation. In fact, I have a very high quality dialogue with David Cameron,” he confirmed.
Finally, he reiterated his commitment to sovereignty and stressed that, although it is not the main priority of his government, it must be understood as a “long-term State issue.” “There is an enormous 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 noted, before closing: “It is not "The moment to discuss it today seems to me to be a much more serious position and we have a lot of issues on the agenda that we can work on together and we are willing to do so."
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