fruitball

No.

omnebonumabalto

NO

Pulaski

Exactly, it was never under Argentinian rule in the first place! The most the Argentinians can say that the Falklands were under common rule by Spain for a period. ..... Perhaps the Argentinians will lay claim to the Philippines next?

Lion in Winter

At this point it should be determined by the people on the islands. It's hard to get to the rights and wrongs of previous waves of colonization involving several countries, but we ought to be beyond the stage of one country just handing people over to another country. Self determination seems the only way to go, but I imagine they will want to keep the protection of the British crown/government.

Let's just try not to kill anyone else over it, from any country.

robin1234

Yes! And Argentina is similar to the U.S. or Australia, a colonial era European outpost with a population dominated by Europeans, since native people were ruthlessly exterminated. I believe most people in Argentina are of German, Italian, British or Spanish ancestry .... but they seem to find it convenient to play the "third world" card.

Why isn't Britain part of France? After all it's only 20 miles away! Isn't it a couple of hundred miles from Argentina to Falklands??

Pulaski

Or vice versa, as sizeable tracts of it were for extended periods during the past 1,000 years. Maybe the Duke of Normandy should reclaim his (her ) ancestral lands?

CelticRover

Mr. Putin might want to up the ante on the next bet.


Putin Signs Anti-UK Military Pact With Argentina: Falklands Dispute May Get Complex As Russia Steps Up Support

Gordon Barlow

Britain might want to re-think its decision to impose economic sanctions on Russia. What goes around, comes around...

Pulaski

Argentina might want to re-think its decision to get cozy with Russia, given that Russia's other buddies in the Americas, Cuba and Venezuela have probably the two weakest economies in the Americas. The only question is whether Russia attracts the wo,rst basket case countries as partners or whether entering an economic agreement with Russia turns your economy into a basket case? I suspect that it's a bit of both - Russia attracts basket case partners, ..... and makes them worse!

Gordon Barlow

I strongly suspect that Russia is just tweaking Britain's tail, in mild revenge for the sanctions. And tweaking the US's tail in being courteous to C & V, in mild revenge for causing trouble in Ukraine. The unspoken riposte in each case is, "Hey, see how you like it, sunshine!"

I think it's quite funny to watch. The (totally empty) threat of Russian warships in the Gulf of Mexico - priceless!

Engineer_abroad

Remember even when Argentina became a sovereign nation (free from Spain) their county only extended to the area around Bs As province. The rest of the country now called Argentina, as especially Patagonia, was not conquered till the 1880's (Conquest of the desert and considered ethnic genocide by most modern historians, although it is still celebrated on the 100 pesos note).

As a result Argentina has no claim as a result of proximity or continental shelf. If Argentina wants to take the moral high ground on this let us see them return the majority of the land they conquered to the South American first nations.

Having lived in Argentina my impression was that the Falkland's is used as a nationalist cause to unite the masses against a common enemy and divert from disastrous domestic policy. This argument will never stop, Argentina cannot afford to lose its oldest smoke and mirrors tactic.

A great paper on the subject was released in 2008 called "Getting it right; the real history of the Falklands".

Pulaski

You don't need to have lived in Argentina to realise that that is obviously true.

Engineer_abroad

What is surprising though is that most educated Argentines know this and apologies for their government.

Pulaski

That is interesting, though I suspect that is true in most tin-pot countries, to the extent that their wealthiest and educated people don't flee the country when faced with the problems of long-term corrupt and inept governments.

Engineer_abroad

The rich do emigrate its the poorer but still well educated middle classes that are stuck.