Theresa May vows Britain will defend Falklands as she becomes first Tory Prime Minister to meet Argentina leader in Buenos Aires since 1982 war

THERESA May is the first Conservative Prime Minister to hold talks in Argentina with the country’s leader since the Falklands War in 1982.

May held a private meeting with the Argentine President Mauricio Macri as she is in the South American country for the G20 summit.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been tense since the conflict as Argentina also lays claim to the islands in the South Atlantic.

The Prime Minister though has emphasised the Falklands will remain British despite the talks earlier this evening focusing on trade.

May said: “I am talking to president Macri about opportunities for trade, but our position on the sovereignty of the Falklands hasn't changed – and will not change.”

The meeting comes after the two countries agreed a new air link between South America and the Falklands, going via Argentina.

The British government said in a statement that it was part of “building closer links” which were a shared goal between the two countries.

The Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said the new link was a positive development and added “dialogue must be maintained.”

May also used the summit to also hold face-to-face talks with other leaders around the world – most notably Australia, Canada, Japan, Chile and Turkey.

During her talks with Japan she was urged to avoid a No Deal Brexit.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid tribute to Mrs May’s “leadership” in managing to get an agreement with the EU.

But piling pressure on the PM, he implored: “I would like to once again ask for your support to avoid No Deal as well as to ensure transparency, predictability as well as legal stability in the Brexit process.”

The blast comes just weeks after Japanese investors warned Britain would lose its standing as the ‘gateway to Europe’ in a No Deal. Panasonic has already moved its European HQ to Amsterdam.

In February the Tokyo’s ambassador warned any “private company” would be unable to continue operations in the UK if it became unprofitable.

Trade has topped Mrs May's agenda for the two-day gathering, as she sought to push her global Britain message of new opportunities, which she believes will be opened by the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

The exception has been a bilateral meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, where the PM delivered a "robust" message over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the need for Riyadh to engage in talks in Stockholm next week on ending the war in Yemen.

Following the meeting, a Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prime Minister stressed the importance of ensuring that those responsible for the appalling murder of Jamal Khashoggi are held to account, and that Saudi Arabia takes action to build confidence that such a deplorable incident could not happen again.

"Noting the steps taken by the Saudi investigation since the Foreign Secretary had met with the crown prince and King Salman on November 12, she encouraged the crown prince to ensure that Saudi Arabia co-operated fully with the Turkish authorities and worked to bring both investigations to an acceptable close.

"To ensure full accountability, there needed to be full transparency about exactly what had happened and who was responsible, in line with the commitments made by King Salman when she spoke to him on October 24."