Thanks to Milei, the Malvinas issue has once again taken a central place in the United Nations General Assembly after more than four decades, following British Prime Minister Andy Burnham explicitly mentioning the Islands during his speech before the international body.
This is the first time since 1982 that a British Prime Minister has brought the Malvinas issue to an intervention at the United Nations, when Margaret Thatcher referred to the conflict in the context of the war between the two countries.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom stated before the UN that he will "stand firm" on the Falklands issue
The episode occurred amid the diplomatic strategy promoted by the Government of Javier Milei, which in recent months has sought to reposition the Argentine claim of sovereignty within the international agenda and increase pressure for London to resume bilateral negotiations.
During his presentation, Burnham stated that the United Kingdom will remain “firm” in the face of any questioning regarding the territories it considers British and specifically mentioned the Malvinas Islands.
Quirno exercised the right of reply
The reference made by the British head of government immediately opened the possibility of an Argentine response within the General Assembly itself. Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno exercised the right of reply and formally responded to Burnham from the United Nations, in an exchange of great diplomatic relevance for the sovereignty dispute between the two countries.
Quirno reaffirmed that the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands, and the surrounding maritime spaces are an integral part of Argentine national territory and recalled that they have been under British occupation since 1833.
The foreign minister also reiterated Argentina's willingness to resume direct talks with London to reach a peaceful and definitive solution. “Argentina reiterates its full willingness to resume substantive bilateral negotiations with the United Kingdom,” he stated.
Malvinas returned to the center of the international stage
The exchange represented a particularly important event for the strategy developed by the Argentine Government: the British Prime Minister himself brought the issue back to the main international political forum and enabled a formal response from Argentina.
Hours earlier, Javier Milei had asserted before the UN Argentina's sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands and again called on the United Kingdom to resume negotiations, while warning that the country will seek to complement the diplomatic route with concrete measures to defend its sovereign interests.
Milei defended the Malvinas and harshly questioned the UN: “What is the use of a resolution?”
The goal set by Milei's administration is to bring the United Kingdom back to the negotiating table on sovereignty, something that has not happened in over four decades.
Quirno concluded his intervention by reaffirming Argentina's historical position on the territory: “By history and by right: the Malvinas are Argentine”. Thus, more than 40 years after the 1982 war, the dispute over the Malvinas has once again been directly exposed between Argentina and the United Kingdom before the United Nations.
