Argentina's government on Wednesday repeated its call for negotiations with Britain on the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands, also known as Falkland Islands in Britain.
 
"Argentina considers Britain's refusal to tackle the sovereignty topic as incomprehensible," the foreign ministry said in a statement issued on the eve of the 174th anniversary of Britain's control of the Atlantic islands.

The statement reiterated Argentina's insistence that the islands and the seas around them were part of Argentine territory, and described Britain's presence there as a "persistent illegal occupation."

The United Nations and the Organization of American States had both urged the nations to reach a just, peaceful and lasting end to the dispute, the foreign ministry stressed in the statement.

The disputed islands, located in the southern Atlantic region near the Argentine coast, were occupied by British forces in 1833.

Argentina fought a 74-day war with Britain in 1982 over the sovereignty of the archipelago, leaving 649 Argentine and 255 British soldiers dead. Britain later regained control of the islands.

The two governments re-established diplomatic relations in 1990, but Argentina has never ceased to press for its territorial demands.

Argentina said that it would continue its campaign to recover the islands in line with the principles of international law and promised to respect the archipelago residents' way of life and uphold their interests.

(Xinhua News Agency January 4, 2007)