A FRESH transatlantic row has blown up after the US said it will not recognise
next month’s Falklands referendum.
The 3,000 islanders are expected to overwhelmingly back remaining British in a
historic poll on March 10.
David Cameron ordered the vote in a bid to silence Argentina’s claim to the
territories.
But in a brutal snub, the US Government has said its neutrality over the
islands’ sovereignty will not change — effectively branding the result
irrelevant.
The news has infuriated No 10, threatening to overshadow new US Secretary of
State John Kerry’s first official visit to London on Monday to meet Foreign
Secretary William Hague.
The Sun can reveal Mr Hague is expected to grill ex-US presidential candidate
Mr Kerry on the White House’s position.
A senior Foreign Office source said: “We hope that all countries reflect on
the outcome of the referendum and how it might affect their attitude to
Argentine bullying of the Falkland Islanders.”
A Foreign Office spokesman said they hoped the US would review their stance.
But a US State Department spokesman said they took “no position regarding the
sovereignty claims”.
t.newtondunn@the-sun.co.uk
myView
By LUKE COFFEY, Margaret Thatcher Fellow at Heritage Foundation
JOHN Kerry should be embarrassed when he visits Foreign Secretary William
Hague next week.
This policy plays into the hands of Argentina and makes a mockery of the
Special Relationship.
When the islanders go to the polls, it will be a historic opportunity to
express their right to self-determination — a principle America was founded
on.
It is shocking to think President Obama, leader of the free world, will not
back their freedom.
The US is on the wrong side of history.
