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Row escalates as Argentinian foreign minister lodges formal protest with UN, but Britain insists militarising claim is 'absurd.'
Argentina has accused Britain of deploying nuclear weapons near the Falkland Islands and "militarising" the south Atlantic.
The Argentinian foreign minister, Héctor Timerman, lodged a formal protest at the United Nations on Friday and showed slides of British military bases in the region, saying they represented a threat to all south America.
He said Buenos Aires had intelligence that a Vanguard submarine was operating in the area. "Thus far the UK refuses to say whether it is true or not," he told a press conference in New York. "Are there nuclear weapons or are there not? The information Argentina has is that there are these nuclear weapons." Quoting John Lennon, he added: "Give peace a chance."
Britain's ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant, said London did not comment on the disposition of nuclear weapons or submarines but that it was "manifestly absurd" to say it was militarising the region. Britain's defence posture remained unchanged, he said.
The Daily Mail reported this week that Britain had deployed a Trafalgar-class nuclear-powered submarine armed only with conventional weapons.
Timerman said such a nuclear-armed submarine would violate the Treaty of Tlatelolco for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean.
After receiving Timerman's protest the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, issued a statement expressing "concern" about the escalating row and reportedly offered to mediate.
Argentina's president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, said Britain's dispatch of a modern destroyer, HMS Dauntless, to replace an older vessel, as well as Prince William, in his role as a search and rescue helicopter pilot, were provocations and presented a "grave risk for international security". Britain said the deployments were routine.
Read More:
Argentina accuses UK of deploying nuclear weapons near Falkland Islands | UK news | guardian.co.uk
Argentina has accused Britain of deploying nuclear weapons near the Falkland Islands and "militarising" the south Atlantic.
The Argentinian foreign minister, Héctor Timerman, lodged a formal protest at the United Nations on Friday and showed slides of British military bases in the region, saying they represented a threat to all south America.
He said Buenos Aires had intelligence that a Vanguard submarine was operating in the area. "Thus far the UK refuses to say whether it is true or not," he told a press conference in New York. "Are there nuclear weapons or are there not? The information Argentina has is that there are these nuclear weapons." Quoting John Lennon, he added: "Give peace a chance."
Britain's ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant, said London did not comment on the disposition of nuclear weapons or submarines but that it was "manifestly absurd" to say it was militarising the region. Britain's defence posture remained unchanged, he said.
The Daily Mail reported this week that Britain had deployed a Trafalgar-class nuclear-powered submarine armed only with conventional weapons.
Timerman said such a nuclear-armed submarine would violate the Treaty of Tlatelolco for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean.
After receiving Timerman's protest the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, issued a statement expressing "concern" about the escalating row and reportedly offered to mediate.
Argentina's president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, said Britain's dispatch of a modern destroyer, HMS Dauntless, to replace an older vessel, as well as Prince William, in his role as a search and rescue helicopter pilot, were provocations and presented a "grave risk for international security". Britain said the deployments were routine.
Read More:
Argentina accuses UK of deploying nuclear weapons near Falkland Islands | UK news | guardian.co.uk