Latin American and Caribbean nations on Monday backed Argentina’s claim of sovereignty to the Falkland Islands in a growing dispute with Britain over plans to drill for oil off the islands in the Atlantic.
At the Rio Group summit of 32 countries hosted by Mexico, Argentina presented a statement quoting Mexican President Felipe Calderon as saying that “the heads of state represented here reaffirm their support for the legitimate rights of the Republic of Argentina in the sovereignty dispute with Great Britain.”
Calderon did not speak directly about the matter.
Britain and Argentina have long disputed sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and fought a war over them in 1982.
The issue had been relatively calm until a British oil exploration company recently announced drilling plans there.
Desire Petroleum said on Monday it had started drilling for oil about 100km north of the disputed Falkland Islands, despite strong opposition from Argentina.
“The well is being drilled to an estimated target depth of circa 3,500 meters,” the company said in a statement.
“Drilling operations are expected to take approximately 30 days,” it said.
The dispute over the Falklands dates back to the 19th century, when the islands were seized by the British. Argentina has sought their return ever since, invading in April 1982 and holding them until June, when British forces retook the territory.
Full diplomatic relations were restored in 1990 and both sides have since largely agreed to disagree on the issue of sovereignty.
But anger over the issue still lingers and has been exacerbated by the prospect that Argentina could lose out on mineral wealth discovered offshore.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez ruled out any plans to try to keep the British boats or rigs out.
“We do not believe in methods like blockades,” she said.
One of the primary goals of the two-day summit held in the Caribbean beach resort of Playa del Carmen is the formation of a new regional group that would include all nations in the Americas — except the US and Canada.
A working summit document suggests diplomats are still working on a name for the organization, with the “Latin American and Caribbean Community” being one possibility. The group is expected to be established next year.
The summit meeting was marked by a strong exchange of words between leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Colombia’s conservative Alvaro Uribe, a diplomat with firsthand knowledge of the situation said.
The discussion centered on political differences that have led Venezuela to suspend many of Colombia’s exports and reached such a heated level that Chavez reportedly got up to leave the meeting before other leaders stepped in to calm the two, said the diplomat, who was not authorized to be quoted by name or country.
CONDITIONS: The Russian president said a deal that was scuppered by ‘elites’ in the US and Europe should be revived, as Ukraine was generally satisfied with it Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday said that he was ready for talks with Ukraine, after having previously rebuffed the idea of negotiations while Kyiv’s offensive into the Kursk region was ongoing. Ukraine last month launched a cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, sending thousands of troops across the border and seizing several villages. Putin said shortly after there could be no talk of negotiations. Speaking at a question and answer session at Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin said that Russia was ready for talks, but on the basis of an aborted deal between Moscow’s and Kyiv’s negotiators reached in Istanbul, Turkey,
SPIRITUAL COUPLE: Martha Louise has said she can talk with angels, while her husband, Durek Verrett, claims that he communicates with a broad range of spirits Social media influencers, reality stars and TV personalities were among the guests as the Norwegian king’s eldest child, Princess Martha Louise, married a self-professed US shaman on Saturday in a wedding ceremony following three days of festivities. The 52-year-old Martha Louise and Durek Verrett, who claims to be a sixth-generation shaman from California, tied the knot in the picturesque small town of Geiranger, one of Norway’s major tourist attractions located on a fjord with stunning views. Following festivities that started on Thursday, the actual wedding ceremony took place in a large white tent set up on a lush lawn. Guests
Thailand has netted more than 1.3 million kilograms of highly destructive blackchin tilapia fish, the government said yesterday, as it battles to stamp out the invasive species. Shoals of blackchin tilapia, which can produce up to 500 young at a time, have been found in 19 provinces, damaging ecosystems in rivers, swamps and canals by preying on small fish, shrimp and snail larvae. As well as the ecological impact, the government is worried about the effect on the kingdom’s crucial fish-farming industry. Fishing authorities caught 1,332,000kg of blackchin tilapia from February to Wednesday last week, said Nattacha Boonchaiinsawat, vice president of a parliamentary
A French woman whose husband has admitted to enlisting dozens of strangers to rape her while she was drugged on Thursday told his trial that police had saved her life by uncovering the crimes. “The police saved my life by investigating Mister Pelicot’s computer,” Gisele Pelicot told the court in the southern city of Avignon, referring to her husband — one of 51 of her alleged abusers on trial — by only his surname. Speaking for the first time since the extraordinary trial began on Monday, Gisele Pelicot, now 71, revealed her emotion in almost 90 minutes of testimony, recounting her mysterious