UK TRIP CONCLUDES

Timerman: ‘whiff of oil’ in British Malvinas interest

Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman returned to Argentina yesterday and accused the British government of having financial interests in the Malvinas Islands, describing their “intransigent” position as bearing “a strong scent of oil.”

Speaking in a radio interview shortly after touching down in Buenos Aires, the minister described his trip to London as an “important step” in installing the “Malvinas issue” as a subject for debate.

“The British government uses the British citizens who inabit the Islands to justify its own intransigence. We want to engage in dialogue, we want to comply with UN resolutions,” said Timerman, adding that “at no point” has the Argentine government set conditions or an ultimatum for meeting with their British counterparts.

In this context, the minister said that “I detect a strong whiff of oil, a commercial interest, in the British position.”

Timerman described his visit as an opportunity to meet with figures representing 18 European countries that support dialogue between the UK and Argentina over sovereignty, as well as “establishing debate on the Malvinas as an issue in British society,” pointing to the media coverage his visit had generated.

When asked if he believed that any of his statements could have harmed the possibility of dialogue with the UK, the minister said that “the islands have been occupied since 1833, so it’s very hard to know what will help and what will hinder.”

Timerman continued by stating that if the UK accept the UN resolutions calling for dialogue, “it should not take too long for Argentina to regain sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands.”

“Argentines should remember that the UK has invaded Argentina four times,” said the minister, adding that if the British had been succcessful with their invasions of 1806 and 1807, “today we would be discussing the rights of the territory of Buenos Aires.”

Herald with DyN