Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has requested Pope Francis to intervene in support of Buenos Aires in a clash with Britain over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, she stated on Monday.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said last week that Pope Francis, the first Latin American pope, had been wrong when he said in 2012 that Britain had “usurped” the disputed islands from Argentina.
The year before Bergoglio said that the islands were “ours”, an opinion which the vast majority of Argentinians share.
“There was a very difficult situation in 1978 when Argentina and Chile were almost at war and then John Paul II intervened and helped bring the two countries closer,” she stated to journalists.
“Now the situation is different because Britain and Argentina are two democratic countries with governments elected by the people. The only thing we ask is that we can sit down and negotiate.”
Earlier this month, the islanders voted overwhelmingly to remain a British Overseas Territory. Argentina stated that the referendum wasn’t important.
It was not known how Francis responded to Mrs. Kirchner’s request.
