Argentina’s president draws pushback over Falklands War speech

Argentine President Javier Milei speaks during a ceremony commemorating the 43rd anniversary of the conflict between Argentina and Great Britain over the Falkland Islands at a war memorial in Buenos Aires, Argentina (Natacha Pisarenko/AP)

Argentina’s libertarian president Javier Milei has marked the anniversary of his nation’s failed 1982 attempt to forcibly wrest the Falkland Islands from Britain by expressing hope that the island’s residents may one day choose to be Argentine rather than British.

Mr Milei’s speech came as a surprise to many in Argentina, which still claims sovereignty over the British-controlled archipelago that it calls Las Malvinas despite the British victory.