Argentina's Foreign Minister, Santiago Cafiero, escalated the dispute over the sovereignty of the Fa (Image: Getty)
Argentina's Foreign Minister has poured fuel on the row over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands by announcing at a medal-pinning ceremony that the fight to take over the British-governed island is not over.
Minister Santiago Cafiero made the inflammatory remarks at the Malvinas and South Atlantic Islands Museum while pinning medals on veterans of the Falklands War.
He told the former combatants and gathered families that "The Malvinas cause is in the people, it is in our DNA, in what we feel and what we live".
The Malvinas is the Argentine name for the Falklands Islands and the use of the designation by the EU in a recent document sparked an angry diplomatic row between Argentina and the UK.
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Argentinians Commemorate 40th Anniversary of the Falklands War (Image: Getty)
Cafiero told the crowds gathered for the ceremony: "We are always honouring the veterans, we always feel indebted to you, trying to have the same the dedication and heroism you have shown.
"The Malvinas cause is in the people, it is in our DNA, in what we feel and what we live".？
"This cause is one of the pillars of Argentine foreign policy. To defend our sovereignty. "
He continued: "It has been 190 years since the United Kingdom usurped and violated our national territory.
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"It has been 190 years since we demanded full sovereignty over our territory. And with this awarding of medals we have come to recognise our heroes and heroines, which we know is never enough, and that is why we constantly try to honour them."
A declaration from an EU-Latin America summit last week referred to the South Atlantic archipelago as ”the Islas Malvinas/Falkland Islands”.
That was hailed as a diplomatic triumph by Argentina, which has long claimed the islands.
A declaration from an EU-Latin America summit last week referred to the South Atlantic archipelago as ”the Islas Malvinas/Falkland Islands.” That was hailed as a diplomatic triumph by Argentina, which has long claimed the islands.
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Rishi Sunak criticised the EU for the "regrettable choice of words" over the Falkland Islands, after the EU retracted its use of the name in the EU-CELAC summit declaration, which took place July 17-18.
His official spokesman told reporters: "The Prime Minister's view is that it would have been entirely unacceptable for the EU to question the Falkland Islanders' right to decide their own future.
"To be clear, the Falkland Islands are British, that was the choice of the islanders themselves.
"The EU has rightly now clarified that their position on the Falklands has not changed after their regrettable choice of words."
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