Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has restated her country's claim to the disputed Falkland Islands, but says Argentina will not resort to military force again to win control of the British-held territory.
President Fernandez spoke Friday in the southern city of Ushuaia at an event marking the 28th anniversary of the Falklands War. President Fernandez said Argentina will continue to press its case on the international front.
The south Atlantic archipelago has been under British control since 1833. Argentina invaded the islands on April 2, 1982 and held them for two months until British forces retook control. More than 600 Argentine and 255 British troops were killed.
The islands are nearly 500 kilometers from the South American coast. Argentina asserts its sovereignty over them, saying they are located on Argentina's continental shelf and thus within its sphere of economic influence. Argentina refers to them as Las Malvinas.
In February, the dispute with Britain escalated after a British oil exploration company began drilling off the islands.
Billions of barrels of oil and natural gas are believed to lie beneath the south Atlantic seabed.
Some infromation for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
