Johnson insists to Fernández that the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands "is not in question"

MADRID, 28 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, has defended this Monday before the President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, that the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands "is not in question", after holding a meeting with his Argentine counterpart during the summit of the G7.

"President Fernández raised the Malvinas Islands. The prime minister was firm that his sovereignty is not in question," Downing Street said in a statement stressing that the inhabitants of the islands, "like all people, They have the right to self-determination.

The British Prime Minister's statements took place during a meeting with Fernández after the G7 summit, in which the latter snapped at Johnson that both countries could not discuss "other issues", such as economic agreements or the war in Ukraine, without speak before the Falkland Islands.

"I want to be honest with you, it is difficult for us to sit down to talk about other issues without sitting down to talk about Malvinas," the Argentine president reportedly told Johnson during the meeting, according to the Télam news agency.

The meeting, which lasted half an hour, began with an exchange of positions on Ukraine: while the British president has maintained open support and is betting on a military victory for kyiv, Fernández has pointed out the need to establish negotiations between the two countries.

Likewise, Johnson allegedly defended Argentina's "potentiality" with Fernandez regarding "agriculture, gas and minerals," although the Argentine president responded by saying that "there is no" possibility of progress without negotiating the sovereignty of the Malvinas, according to the aforementioned agency.

On the other hand, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina, Santiago Cafiero, has assured that Argentina "is ready to resume dialogue and negotiations with the United Kingdom on the issue of sovereignty over the Malvinas, in accordance with United Nations resolutions" .

"Argentina is committed to peace, the end of colonialism and the validity of International Law," Cafiero has expressed on his Twitter account.

On June 23, the Argentine Foreign Minister already asked the British Government to resume negotiations on the Malvinas Islands: "Leave your exercise of colonial power in the pages of history (...) It is time for the United Kingdom listen to the international community and resume negotiations to reach a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute with Argentina," said Cafiero.

Argentina claims its sovereignty over the Malvinas -Falklands in the British nomenclature-, for which reason it is usually suspicious of any gesture by the United Kingdom, even if it derives from the royal family. In 2016, he criticized Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, for spending six weeks undergoing military training in the archipelago.