Clegg rejects Argentine ‘baseless insinuations’ over Falklands
By Oliver Hotham
Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has denied claims by the Argentinean government that Britain has sent a nuclear submarine to the South Atlantic.
In a clash at the international Nuclear Security Summit in South Korea, Argentine foreign minister Héctor Timerman referred to what he called an "extra-regional power" which had deployed a nuclear submarine.
Such an act by Britain would be in violation of the Treaty of Tlatelolco, which forbids nuclear weapons in any Latin American country's territory.
Mr Clegg, who is leading the delegation to Seoul, strongly denied the claims, saying they were "unfounded, baseless insinuations".
He continued: "As I'm sure our colleague from Argentina knows, the United Kingdom ratified the protocols to the treaty in 1969… which guarantees a nuclear weapons-free zone covering Latin America and the Caribbean.
"We have respected those obligations since 1969 and we will continue to do so."
The clash comes amid growing diplomatic tensions between Britain and Argentina as the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War approaches.
Calls for a return of the Falklands to Argentina have been growing, with president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner attempting to reopen negotiations over the country's sovereignty.
Argentina claims Britain has been illegally occupying the "Islas Malvinas" since 1833.
Britain insists the Falkland Islanders have the right to self-determination, pointing out that the residents of the Falklands wish to remain British.
