US remarks on Malvinas disturb Britain

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/226163.html

US officials’ remarks on the Malvinas (Falkland) islands have disturbed the British press as Britain is concerned over any damage to its Special Relationship with the US.

US Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson’s remarks about the issue of Las Malvinas have been another setback to the British government as it refuses to engage in negotiations asking Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon to rule out the possibility of negotiating over the islands.

Jacobson called for a diplomatic solution to the issue of sovereignty over the Malvinas islands saying Britain and Argentina are equal partners in the eyes of the US.

“Our position remains the same. This is a problem between two of our partners. We do not want to change our position...We prefer that both countries negotiate a diplomatic solution in that matter,” said Jacobson in Lima, Peru, as she is on a tour to Peru and Argentina.

This comes while the British press has not welcomed Jacobson’s call for equality as UK officials are already concerned about any damage to the Special Relationship.

Nile Gardiner, an aide to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, lashed out at the US stance on the issue saying the US is not aware of “the difference between Great Britain and Argentina.”

Gardiner also raised concerns over why the US “fails to express any support whatsoever for the UK, and remains silent” on the issue.

Furthermore, last month, the US Department of State released a statement on its official website calling for a negotiated solution to the dispute.

The department’s reference to the islands as Malvinas, while Britain insists on calling the archipelago “the Falklands,” came as another slap in the face of the Special Relationship.

This comes against the backdrop of the US president Barak Obama’s describing France as the closest ally of the US.

Moreover, earlier this month, The Daily Telegraph revealed that the US had cast a skeptical eye on Britain’s military capability refusing to let Britain take part in its show of strength when a flotilla of US vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz. The British newspaper described the move as “humiliating” for the British establishment.