It is not know whether the pope deliberately picked up the sign
Pope Francis has been drawn into the controversy over the Falkland Islands after being photographed holding an Argentine sign calling for dialogue on the islands’ future.
The islands, which were invaded by Argentina in 1982, a the cost of 649 Argentine and 255 British lives, have been British since 1833 but are claimed by Argentina, despite the 2,000 strong population overwhelmingly opposing Argentine rule.
The photo, taken at his weekly general audience in the Vatican this week, has appeared in South American media and was tweeted by Argentinian President Cristina Kirchner.
It is not known whether Pope Francis deliberately picked up the sign, reading in Spanish: “It’s time for dialogue between Argentina and the United Kingdom on the Falklands”.
In 2013 President Kirchner asked her compatriots Francis to intervene to start a dialogue between the countries.