Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino met with her British counterpart, Foreign Secretary David Cameron in Rio de Janeiro, where both are attending the G-20 Ministers’ Meeting. 

The meeting followed Cameron’s visit to the Malvinas Islands, protested by several Argentine governors, where he said the issue of sovereignty was “not up for discussion.” Although the government did not protest his visit, the move prompted Mondino to ironically thank Cameron for visiting Argentina in a post on X.

In Wednesday’s meeting, despite Mondino and Cameron agreeing on topics like condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they “acknowledged the existence of a disagreement” regarding the Malvinas, according to a press release by the Argentine Foreign Ministry.

The communiqué said that Mondino “expressed dissatisfaction” with Cameron’s visit to the Malvinas and his ensuing comments on Monday. The foreign minister said Argentina has sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands and reiterated her country’s willingness to resolve the dispute following the mandate of the international community.

Conversely, Cameron reiterated his country’s support for the islanders “right of self-determination,” a communiqué by the UK’s Foreign Office said.

Cameron met with President Javier Milei at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, where they agreed to start “a new stage in the relations between Argentina and the United Kingdom.”

Previously, Milei had expressed his interest in resuming negotiations on the issue of Malvinas sovereignty, saying he would advocate for a solution similar to China and the UK’s 1997 Hong Kong agreement. According to Milei, the two agreed to include the issue on their agenda to find a solution. of advancing cooperation in mutually beneficial areas, the communiqué added.

In the islands, Cameron said that the Malvinas sovereignty was “not up for discussion” and that the United Kingdom would maintain its stance as long as the islanders wanted to remain a part of the “U.K. family.”

Both officials made posts on X after the meeting. “The UK and Argentina are building a positive relationship with mutual benefits, including through increasing trade links,” Cameron wrote while Mondino posted a picture of the meeting with the caption “putting things in their place.”

Editorial disclaimer

Although the UK refers to the territory as the “Falklands Islands,” Argentina strongly contests this name. The Buenos Aires Herald refers to the islands as the Malvinas Islands.