Argentina’s president rules out military action over Falkland Islands

Argentine president Javier Milei has ruled out taking military action to take the Falkland Islands from Britain, despite repeatedly claiming sovereignty.

He reiterated his recent claim that the archipelago belonged to his country, but said he planned to secure the territory through diplomacy.

Mr Milei told the Telegraph: “We do not believe in military solutions. We do not believe in military solutions. We do not believe in military solutions.”

He added: "We are going to get the Falklands back by diplomatic means. The Falklands are Argentinian, legally, historically and geographically.”

The Argentinian leader was emboldened after Mr Trump recently suggested he could reconsider Washington’s neutral stance on the sovereignty of the islands. The US president also questioned the UK’s ability to defend the territory due to its domestic problems with immigration and energy.

Mr Milei’s latest remarks mark the first time he has ruled out military intervention on the territory since Mr Trump said he would review US support for British sovereignty.

Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and invaded them in 1982 before being defeated in a short but bloody war.

Mr Trump previously said he would not back Britain if Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, in retaliation for the UK’s stance on the Iran war.

“Your country was not there to help me,” he told GB News, just days after he said he was reviewing the United States’ position on British sovereignty over the islands.

Although the US is formally neutral, Washington provided support for Britain’s campaign to retake the islands after the Argentinian invasion in 1982.

It sparked the Falklands War, which led to 255 British service deaths in just over 70 days. It also led to the deaths of 655 Argentinians and three Falkland Islanders.

Last month Argentina’s president Javier Milei claimed the Falkland Islands were “under illegal foreign occupation” by the UK. He also threatened “to take matters into our own hands” as he spoke at the UN General Assembly in New York.

He said the islanders’ self-determination “does not apply in this case, since the population was implanted by the occupying power on a territory whose sovereignty is in dispute”.

His government has also imposed sanctions on people and companies involved in oil exploration around the Falklands and said it would file a criminal complaint against oil company Navitas Petroleum over its operations around the islands.

It has also introduced a sweeping security bill that would enable tougher action to be taken and expand the military’s role in protecting the country’s critical infrastructure.

However, prime minister Andy Burnham has said the UK "will stand firm in the face of any threats” to the sovereignty of the Falklands.

Earlier this month, he said he will do “whatever it takes” to keep the Falklands Islands a British territory following claims of “sabre-rattling” by Argentina.

Giving a speech in the Commons, the prime minister said he had raised the sovereignty issue with US president Donald Trump as well as the “clear and declared will of the islanders to remain British”.

“I emphasise this point in my speech to the [UN] General Assembly, and that we will also always do whatever it takes to uphold their will,” he added.

Mr Burnham also opened an investigation into reports of harassment against Falklands islanders after alleged intimidation from Argentina.