Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez criticised the British government for refusing to open talks on the sovereignty of the disputed Falkland Islands, which are known as 'Malvinas' in Spanish.

Amid loud cheers and clapping from the crowd, Fernandez unveiled a 'Malvinas Patio' at the government palace to mark the 30th anniversary of the sinking of the Belgrano battleship by the British during the Falklands war. Speaking in Spanish she said.

"To those who don't like talking about Argentine rights, at least let's talk about the dialogue. Because it is certain that the British Foreign Ministry doesn't want to recognise us at all. But we cannot sustain, what has frankly become unsustainable in every part of the world, which is the refusal to talk. How can anyone say they are democratic and say 'I am not going to talk to you about this?'"

Fernandez also renewed her criticism of the deployment of British destroyer HMS Dauntless to the Falklands which the British Ministry of Defence has described as "entirely routine".

"I read that a commander of the British fleet was boasting that the latest destroyer was the most modern ship in the UK and it was close to the Malvinas [Falklands]. When there is no chance of any Argentine invasion, it seems almost pathetic or ridiculous. Even if they were 80,000 km away, they would not have anything to worry about. We are and will always be a country of peace,.

Britain went to war with Argentina over the disputed islands in 1982 and thirty years on London has still refused to start talks on sovereignty with Argentina unless the roughly 3,000 islanders want to remain as British citizens.