UN General Assembly
1997

Assembly and the Decolonization Committee, we believe that it is imperative to resume negotiations on all aspects of the question of the Malvinas Islands. No Member of the United Nations should evade the obligation to resolve a dispute by peaceful means as laid down in the Charter of this Organization. We call for the parties to sit at the negotiating table and discuss all the relevant issues. We have made too much progress with the United Kingdom to avoid addressing this issue. We have made very important strides in building our bilateral relationship with the United Kingdom, which are reflected in heightened economic, commercial and cultural relations between the two countries. We have recreated a climate of mutual trust in the South-West Atlantic, which enables us today to cooperate in the conservation of living resources and in the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons. Undoubtedly, these activities would gain substantial impetus from the resumption of direct links between the mainland and the islands, which have proven to be most beneficial in the past. Nothing, however, replaces human contact between individuals.