MADRID, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Spain's foreign minister on Tuesday visited Gibraltar for the first time since it was taken by Britain nearly 300 years ago, maintaining his country's claim on the disputed territory.
In a joint press conference with his British counterpart David Miliband, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said his country's claim on Gibraltar "cannot be relinquished," adding that solution should come through "cooperation and dialogue" between Spain, Britain and Gibraltar.
Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in 1713 but has always sought its return.
London remains in refusal to hand what it calls "overseas territory" back to Spain for "respecting the Gibraltarians' wishes."
"Sovereignty is in the hands of the people of Gibraltar," said Miliband on Tuesday.
During his visit to Gibraltar, Moratinos also met with Gibraltar Chief Minister Peter Caruana. Together with Miliband, the three sides reached agreement to boost cooperation in security and environment protection.
Moratinos' visit to Gibraltar was hailed by the three sides as "historic."
The three sides have previously met in 2006 in Spain and last year in London, occasions on which the sovereignty issue was not discussed.
In a 2002 referendum, the majority of Gibraltar's inhabitants rejected an Anglo-Spanish proposal for shared sovereignty.
Gibraltar is located on the southern tip of Iberian Peninsula, sharing land border with Spain in the north. The self-governing territory covers 6,843 square km and currently has a population of 30,000.
没有评论:
发表评论