Argentina Whining to UN; Venezuela Can't Wait to Jump In Front of Cameras With Comment

What's more surprising, that Argentina is whining about the Falklands to distract from a bad economy at home, or that Hugo Chavez can't wait to get in front of a camera to comment?

A diplomatic offensive against Britain's oil exploration off the Falkland Islands intensified today as Argentina prepared to stake its case to the head of the UN backed by regional allies including Brazil.

The Argentinian president, Cristina Kirchner, said a summit of 32 countries in Mexico had endorsed a document accusing Britain of flouting international law by permitting drilling to begin this week.

The Rio Group summit made no immediate official statement, but Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega demanded the UK hand back the Falklands to Buenos Aires.

The Argentinian foreign minister, Jorge Taiana, is due to meet the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, in New York today. The UN has called for talks between Britain and Argentina but has little power to intervene without the backing of the security council, where the UK can veto substantive resolutions.

The sovereignty standoff flared this month over the arrival of a rig, the Ocean Guardian, which is to drill offshore for oil and gas deposits. Last night, Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, criticised the UN for not pushing more forcefully to reopen the debate over the islands, which Argentinians call Las Malvinas.

By: Brant