Argentine President Pledges To Get Falkland Islands Back

Argentina's president Javier Milei has vowed to take over the Falkland Islands despite accepting they are "in hands of the UK".

- Mark Reynolds

Toning down his more recent sabre-rattling rhetoric, the right-wing leader pledged to eventually return the islands to his country's rule, but by peaceful methods.

He said it would be done through diplomatic channels and admitted there was "no instant solution".

Provocation

In a candid interview with the BBC, President Milei also conceded it could take decades to try to gain the Falklands from the UK and said Argentina would not "seek conflict". His nation has long claimed sovereignty over the islands in the south-west Atlantic ocean - 300 miles off its coast and 8,000 miles from the UK.

But residents, who number less than 4,000, have repeatedly made it clear they wish to remain British. The UK's Foreign Secretary, Lord Cameron, visited the islands in February and said their future was not up for discussion.