Monday, December 26, 2011

Uruguay says there's no 'diplomatic cataclysm’ with UK over Malvinas

Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro said today the relationship between Uruguay and the United Kingdom was not severely affected by the recent developments regarding the ban of Malvinas flagged ships on Montevideo’s ports.

‘It is not a diplomatic cataclysm’, said Almagro. “We knew they would argue, but they have been respectful, honest and we are open for dialogue,” he stressed during an interview for a local newspaper.

“There is a fundamental issue that distances us, but it isn’t a President Mujica or a Almagro thing. It always has been the country’s position,” Almagro told the paper regarding Uruguay's support for the Argentine claim.

The foreign minister and his counterpart William Hague engaged in a phone conversation last Friday, informed the newspaper.

Uruguay’s ban of Malvinas flagged ships was officialized in a Mercosur meeting on December 20th.