Argentina, Britain Heal Rift Caused by Falklands War
Argentina and Britain announced an agreement Thursday to restore full diplomatic ties, nearly eight years after they fought a 74-day war over the Falkland Islands, a sparsely populated archipelago off Argentina’s coast in the South Atlantic Ocean.
The announcement capped two days of talks here between Argentine and British officials. Britain agreed to lift by March 31 a 150-mile military protection zone enforced around the islands since Argentina invaded them in 1982.
The pact calls for advance notice by each side of military exercises around the islands, which are home to about 1,900 people.
In the war over the islands, called the Malvinas by Argentina, 712 Argentines, 255 Britons and three islanders died. London and Buenos Aires broke diplomatic relations during the conflict.
The agreement announced Thursday stipulated that talks will continue between the two nations on fishing around the islands--an important source of revenue--and that the International Red Cross will work out visits by Argentines to war cemeteries in the Falklands.
By mutual consent, the latest talks did not touch on claims to sovereignty over the Falklands, which Argentina and Britain have disputed since 1833.
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