The US has revealed its first move if Argentina were to launch a second invasion of the Falkland Islands.
Argentina President Javier Milei has repeatedly laid claim to the British territory in recent weeks, threatening to “take matters into our own hands” and to haul Britain through international courts.
Speaking exclusively to GB News, Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, revealed how the White House would manage Argentinian aggression if a conflict broke out.
The ambassador first admitted it was a “decision for the Commander-in-Chief”, and said he would “not get ahead of the President”.
But he then admitted the White House would make all efforts to avoid an invasion.
Argentina’s first attempt in 1982 resulted in their surrender after just 74 days.
“Argentina is a great friend of the United States,” Mr Waltz said. “Obviously [there’s] the special relationship with the United Kingdom.
“I think we would look to de-escalate before we ever got that far.
“But in terms of any type of of support beyond that, I’ll leave that to the White House and the President.”
Mike Waltz told GB News the US would look to ‘de-escalate before we ever got that far’
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Donald Trump, responding to a question from GB News last month, said he would “probably be able to settle” a potential conflict over the islands – which were first landed on by British explorers around 120 years before Argentina’s existence as an independent state.
The 1982 invasion saw 500 Argentine soldiers killed and more than 10,000 captured by British forces, who had to race across the world to defend the islands.
But the President cast doubt on Britain’s success in a potential second conflict, saying he did not know whether Britain’s Armed Forces “are going to be willing to travel that far”.
Andy Burnham, before jetting off to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, firmly declared the UK “will stand firm in the face of any threats“.
Javier Milei, the Argentine President, has threatened to take the Fakland Islands ‘matters into our own hands’ | REUTERS
Mr Waltz also weighed in on the Prime Minister and the President’s first in-person meeting at the multinational assembly and issued his analysis of the state of the so-called special relationship.
He said: “Look, regardless of people’s politics, this relationship always has to work. And we can disagree on all kinds of issues.
“But I can tell you, as a veteran who’s fought side by side with British soldiers around the world, it is strong.
“The intelligence-sharing is strong, but we’ll continue to press for greater investments in British defence.”
Mr Trump is “incredulous” the North Sea is not being drilled by the UK, he added.
Mike Waltz described the first in-person meeting between Andy Burnham and Donald Trump as ‘good’
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And the President is – as always – pushing for more defence spending, with Mr Waltz pointing to the slow deployment of the HMS Dragon as an example of why investment is needed.
Though he described the meeting as “good” overall.
The UN ambassador, when asked about Andy Burnham’s General Assembly speech, denounced the “globalist agenda” and “obsession with climate change”.
He said: “This kind of obsession with climate, which disproportionately affects those in need in the middle class, that just need cheap, affordable energy, much less the energy to power a modern economy with the demands that AI is bringing, coupled with this borderless open migration where so many countries are committing civil and civilizational suicide, is not something we support.”
Mr Waltz said an agenda which puts “unelected international civil servant bureaucrats in charge” was something the US disagreed with on a “first principles fundamental level”.
