Argentine Foreign Ministry summons British Ambassador over South Atlantic moves

Argentine Foreign Ministry summons British Ambassador over South Atlantic moves

The Argentine Foreign Ministry summoned British Ambassador Kirsty Hayes to express the “concern” of the government of President Javier Milei over recent unilateral actions taken by the United Kingdom in the South Atlantic, including Foreign Secretary David Cameron’s recent visit to the Falkland/Malvinas Islands and London’s announcement to expand the Marine Protected Area.

Hayes met with Deputy Foreign Minister Leopoldo Sahores, Malvinas Secretary Paola Di Chiaro, and Undersecretary for Foreign Policy Marcia Levaggi at the San Martin Palace.

Cameron met Milei earlier this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and then made a stop in Stanley during a South American tour that included a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Rio de Janeiro, which Argentina’s Diana Mondino also attended.

Commenting on Cameron’s Falklands call, Mondino said on social media that the Argentine government appreciated his gesture to visit Argentine territory and that next time he would also be welcome “in Buenos Aires.”

“For an Englishman to laugh with the English language hurts him much more than one of the many letters that Argentina has sent continuously,” Mondino said recently on Argentine television.

Mondino had insisted during last year’s presidential campaign that the Falkland Islanders’ “right to self-determination” should be respected because “decisions can no longer be imposed” on anyone.

Hayes was also briefed on Argentina’s disapproval of the recent contract with Harland & Wolff for the construction of a new port terminal at the Falkland Islands that will be a strong competitor to the one in Ushuaia and a very attractive gateway to Antarctica.