Starmer hits back at Argentina over minister’s Falklands remark ahead of crunch World Cup match

Downing Street has reacted to comments made by Argentina’s foreign minister about the Falkland Islands just days before the World Cup semi-final.

England moved one step closer to the final with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Norway after extra time on Saturday night and will now face Argentina in a history-rich match on Wednesday.

But Downing Street was forced to slap down comments made in the days before the match by Pablo Quirno, who claimed Falkland Islanders were an “artificially settled” population.

Britain and Argentina fought a brief war in 1982 over the islands, which are administered by the United Kingdom but still claimed by Argentina.

Argentina’s foreign minister has called on his country “not to fall into the referendum trap”, claiming the 2013 vote was effectively illegitimate.

Insisting in La Nacion that the population of the Falklands had been “artificially settled by the occupying power”, he wrote: “Therefore, no referendum unilaterally organized by the United Kingdom can have legal effect on a dispute whose settlement through negotiations lies solely with Argentina and the United Kingdom.”

He also wrote that the islands were “a special and special colonial situation resulting from the violation of the territorial integrity of Argentina.”

“Time does not transform an illegitimate occupation into sovereignty and does not divide the territorial unity of the Argentine Republic,” he wrote.

Downing Street flatly rejected the Falkland islanders’ claims, saying they were “British people with the right to determine their own future”.

Asked about Mr Quirno’s comments, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “No.”

He added: “The UK’s position is clear. The islanders have repeatedly expressed their desire to remain a British overseas territory and their right to self-determination is paramount.”

“In 2013, the people of the Falkland Islands voted overwhelmingly to remain a British overseas territory.”

Buenos Aires has repeatedly claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and was defeated in a short but bloody war after launching an invasion in 1982; The shadow of this situation hangs over UK-Argentine relations to this day.

Approximately 650 Argentine soldiers and 255 British soldiers died before Argentina surrendered.

England will face Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday, following their 2-1 victory over Norway last week.

Asked whether the intervention was deeply unhelpful, the spokesman said Sir Keir Starmer’s focus was on football, and in response to chants from Argentine fans, the official said: “I think the Prime Minister’s view is that football should be about a game and about bringing people together. That’s what the fans want to see.”