Ibero-American Summit Reaffirms Backing for Argentina: Malvinas Negotiations Should Resume
Argentina's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on November 5 that the 30th Ibero-American Summit, held in Madrid, Spain, reaffirmed support for resuming negotiations on the Question of the Malvinas Islands, giving Argentina's position a fresh collective endorsement from the Ibero-American Community.
The summit took place in Madrid on November 4 and 5. The headline of the foreign ministry's statement states its theme directly: the summit reaffirmed its backing for the resumption of negotiations on the Malvinas question. Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas, and calls for a peaceful settlement through bilateral negotiations with the United Kingdom.
The timing drew attention. Around the summit, Argentina's dispute with the United Kingdom over oil and gas development in waters near the islands continued to heat up. Argentina has taken a request concerning the offshore hydrocarbon project to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, with hearings scheduled for November 10 and 11 in Hamburg, Germany. The foreign ministry had also repeatedly lodged formal protests over moves such as Britain's unilateral extension of hydrocarbon licences.
Two tracks are now moving at once: multilateral diplomacy, where the summit statement adds weight to Argentina's call for talks, and a legal track that puts the maritime resources dispute before an international tribunal.
The statement carried no response from the British side. London has long insisted on the islanders' right to self-determination, and the prospects for substantive talks in the near term remain unclear. But with the summit statement and the Hamburg hearings falling in the same week, Buenos Aires is keeping the issue near the top of the international agenda.
(Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina)
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：阿根廷总统府玫瑰宫，位于布宜诺斯艾利斯。照片：Diego Delso，CC BY-SA 3.0，经维基共享资源。 / Photo: The Casa Rosada presidential palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photo by Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
