David Cameron warns Argentina on Falklands referendum

British Prime Minister David Cameron has called on Argentina to respect the wishes of the Falkland islanders after they voted overwhelmingly to remain British.The Prime Minister said the 99.8% referendum vote in favour of remaining a British Overseas Territory was the “clearest possible result there could be”.Argentina, however, responded with renewed calls for the UK to enter government-to-government talks to resolve finally their long-running dispute over the islands’ sovereignty. The result of the two-day referendum – while never in doubt – was celebrated by jubilant islanders waving union flags in the capital Port Stanley.Of the 1,517 votes cast in a 92% turnout, just three were against the proposition that the islands should retain their status as an overseas territory of the UK.Speaking in No 10, Cameron said the Argentines should take “careful note” of the virtually-unanimous outcome.“The Falkland Islands may be thousands of miles away but they are British through and through and that is how they want to stay. “People should know we will always be there to defend them,” he added.In Buenos Aires, Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, has refused to recognize the results of a referendum in which the people of the disputed Falkland Islands voted to remain British.The vote in the sparsely populated South Atlantic archipelago that triggered a war between the two nations in 1982 was a “parody,” she said. Even the United States, Britain’s firmest ally, acknowledged Argentina’s claim.Kirchner’s government had dismissed the referendum as meaningless and said it would not affect its claims on the Falklands which it calls “Las Malvinas”. She reiterated her displeasure late Tuesday at an event at the presidential mansion. “What is important today is the United States’ position about this kind of parody of a referendum,” Kirchner said. “The State Department spokeswoman said that they continue to recognize that there is a sovereignty dispute between Argentina and Britain.”The United States earlier said it took “note” of the islanders’ vote, but refused once again to take sides in the dispute.