Boris Johnson lays a wreath at war memorial in tribute to Argentinian soldiers killed in Falklands War
Foreign Secretary was joined by Argentina’s Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie and Defence Minister Oscar Aguad in a hugely symbolic moment
BORIS Johnson laid a wreath at an Argentinian Falklands memorial tonight and urged Brits to reset ties with the country.
In a hugely symbolic moment, the Foreign Secretary visited a Falklands War Memorial.
Boris, joined with Argentina’s Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie and Defence Minister Oscar Aguad, laid wreaths to commemorate those killed on both sides of the conflict at the ‘Monument to the Fallen’.
The Monument - called the Monument to the Fallen in Malvinas by the Argentinians because they dispute Britain's sovereignty over the islands - commemorates the 649 Argentines killed in the conflict but not the 255 Brits.
In exchange, a leading Argentine Cabinet minister will lay a wreath at St Paul’s next month.
It marks a push to move the relationship on from the ten-week conflict in 1982, which plunged relations between the two nations in the deep freeze for years.
Mr Johnson landed in Buenos Aires this weekend - becoming the first UK Foreign Secretary to visit the country in more than 25 years and only the second since the Falklands War.
He said: “It is an honour to join Foreign Minister Faurie today, and to lay a wreath at the Monument to the Fallen, commemorating all those who died in the Falkland Islands conflict.”
Mr Johnson said relations between the two countries had “come a long way” in recent years and said they should now focus on increasing trade.
Boris spent the weekend in Peru – where he toured the Amazon rainforest, coming face-to-face with a spider monkey and fed manatees at an animal rescue centre set up to crackdown on the illegal wildlife trade.
He also visited a visited a school in the remote jungle village of Santa Marta – where he danced with kids in front of 200 people and chatted about Peru’s hopes at next month’s football World Cup.
He also launched a new solar-panel project at the school, which is near to the Peruvian port city of Iquitos.
The scheme - paid for by British foreign aid money – will provide electricity and portable water for the school.
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