Falklands flight talks 'progress'

The islands' sovereignty is still disputed

The UK says talks with Argentina aimed at ending a dispute over flights to the Falkland Islands have made progress.

Argentina wants to start direct flights to the islands, which it has not been allowed to do since the war in 1982.

Islanders resisted the move so last year Argentina imposed restrictions on charter flights through its airspace, threatening tourism in the Falklands.

British Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell said there had been "serious proposals" from both sides.

The Falklands' governor last year rejected a request by Argentina's national airline to resume flights to the islands after more than 20 years.

Sovereignty issues

The sovereignty of the islands, known as the Malvinas in Argentina, remain in dispute.

They still appear on national maps as Argentine territory.

In 1982 Argentina invaded the islands to stake their territorial claim but a British task force ejected them later the same year, leading to the collapse of the country's military junta.

Some experts see the flights issue as one of the levers Argentina can use against British sovereignty on the Falklands.

'Fight' continues

Last Tuesday, Argentine President Nestor Kirchner's chief of staff said his country still had a right to the islands.

Alberto Fernandes said: "We feel we lost unfairly those rights, and we'll keep doing everything to get their sovereignty back, within a diplomatic framework obviously.

"We'll go on behaving like this and trust we can get an agreement to recover our islands.

"The British government has its own position and we have ours. We'll keep on fighting in favour of ours, as the British government maintains its.

"I think that rationality will rule at all times but whatever, no-one can doubt that we have the sovereign right to the islands that are less than 200 miles from the Argentine coast."