British Ambassador on Message Being Prepared by Milei: “The People Living on the Islands Will Decide”

Before Javier Milei’s national broadcast on the Falkland Islands, British Ambassador to Argentina David Cairns offered a clear restatement of London’s position: “The government is very clear. We have a 200-year history with Argentina, and the conflict in the 1980s was very difficult for both countries and the people living on the islands. But now it is very simple: the people living on the islands will decide their own future.”

Milei’s address had not yet been explained, but it was thought likely to relate to recent remarks by Donald Trump about the dispute. Trump said he regularly reviews all positions and described the question of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands as one option among many. The remarks marked the first time a U.S. president had publicly spoken in those terms about the territorial conflict.

“

The government is very clear. We have a 200-year history with Argentina, and the conflict in the 1980s was very difficult for both countries and the people living on the islands. But now it is very simple: the people living on the islands will decide their own future.

Cairns said Trump had stated that the United States could revisit its diplomatic positions “on almost every aspect in almost every part of the world.” He described that as Trump’s right as president, but pointed to repeated statements by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the diplomatic position remained neutral on sovereignty. Cairns also said Britain continued to hold the islands and would not change its position.

The comments came as attention focused on Milei’s coming address and on whether Washington’s position could shift. The issue remains developing.

“

Trump said that the United States could revisit all its diplomatic positions on almost every aspect in almost every part of the world.