Trump raises doubts over support for Britain in Falklands dispute with Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — U.S. President Donald Trump raised doubts about whether the United States would support Britain in another conflict over the Falkland Islands in an interview with a British broadcaster aired Thursday, injecting new tension into the long-standing dispute over the British-controlled archipelago also claimed by Argentina.

Trump’s comments came as his ideological ally, Argentine President Javier Milei, prepared to deliver a televised national address about what his government has described as diplomatic progress over the islands that lie about 480 kilometers (300 miles) off Argentina’s coast in the South Atlantic.

When asked in an interview with British television channel GB News whether the U.S. would “come to the aid” of Britain in a new conflict over the territory, Trump avoided answering directly.

“Well, look, I was there when they had the first war,” Trump said of the 10-week conflict that erupted in April 1982, when Argentina’s waning military dictatorship invaded the islands and then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sent British naval forces across the Atlantic to retake them. The war killed 649 Argentine troops, 255 British service members and three islanders.

“That was a long time ago and I watched it so carefully, and you comported yourselves very…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world