The front page of the Sun newspaper claims that Argentina has apologised for the Falklands War.

Argentinean President Carlos Menem told the UK tabloid that "some brave young Argentine and British soldiers lost their lives in a conflict that should never have happened and that we deeply regret".

However, Mr Menem, who is due to visit the UK next week, later denied that this was an apology.

"Saying sorry is something completely different," he said.

The president went on to say that Argentina would continue to claim sovereignty over the islands, but that his country would never again try to take the Falklands by force.

Do you think it is necessary for Argentina to apologise for the Falklands War?

Correspondents say the fact that Mr Menem agreed to write for that particular newspaper shows how much relations between the two countries have improved in recent years.

After all, the Sun was a strong supporting voice for the UK's right to reclaim the islands.

Others say that there is not much emphasis on the need for an apology.

"The Argentina of today is not the Argentina that Britain was at war with," said a Downing Street spokesman.

Each leader would state his country's claim to the Falklands, he added. But both sides accepted the issue would not then be further discussed and would concentrate of their growing trade links.

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