Argentina takes Falklands row to UN 10.02.12
10Argentina's foreign minister has officially complained to the UN about what it calls Britain's "militarisation" of the seas around the disputed Falkland Islands.
Hector Timerman made a formal complaint to the presidents of the Security Council and General Assembly at the UN's headquarters in New York.
It comes after Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner hit out at the UK's decision to send the Duke of Cambridge and one of its most modern navy warships to the South Atlantic region.
In a speech to an audience including Falkland war veterans on Wednesday, she said the move posed a risk to "international security" before announcing the official complaint would be made.
Addressing politicians, Ms Kirchner said: "In a few hours our chancellor leaves for New York to make a presentation to the United Nations about the militarisation and the introduction of nuclear arms in the zone."
A statement from Argentina's foreign ministry added: "In accordance with the instructions received from the President of the Argentinian Republic, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the Chancellor (Foreign Minister) Hector Timerman will meet with Ambassador Kodjo Menan, president of the United Nations Security Council to present the Argentinian complaint against the militarisation that the United Kingdom is carrying out from the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.
"Furthermore the Chancellor will personally inform the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser and the body's Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon of the violation by the United Kingdom of around 40 United Nations resolutions which call for dialogue between the said country and Argentina to peacefully resolve the conflict initiated in 1833 with the military invasion of the Falkland Islands."
Mr Timerman also met with the president of the UN Decolonisation Committee, the ministry said.
The complaint comes amid simmering tensions between London and Buenos Aires in the run-up to the 30th anniversary of the 1982 Falklands war, which saw Argentinian forces invade the archipelago in a row over its sovereignty.