New government maintains it is for islanders to decide on sovereignty after Argentinian president's overture

This article is more than 10 years old

This article is more than 10 years old

Britain today batted away an Argentinian request to hold talks on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, which has been a British territory since 1833.

The rebuff from the Foreign Office followed an overture from Argentina's president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who was attending an EU-Latin America summit in Madrid.

Despite a changeover in government, Britain is sticking to its position that it is up the islanders to decide on sovereignty.

"We have no doubt about our sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. The principle of self-determination as set out in the UN charter applies," the Foreign Office minister of state, Jeremy Browne, said in a statement.