BUENOS AIRES – Argentina on Monday reaffirmed its “legitimate sovereignty rights” over the Malvinas Islands, also known as the Falklands.

On the 189th anniversary of the islands falling into British hands, Argentina’s Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement asserting the Malvinas Islands were “illegally occupied” on Jan. 3, 1833 by British forces that “evicted the Argentine authorities legitimately established there.”

The takeover “was immediately rejected and protested and since then all Argentine governments have uninterruptedly reaffirmed their legitimate and inalienable sovereignty rights,” said the statement. The United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 2065 in 1965, calling on the two countries to find a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute over the islands.

Argentina has reiterated its “firm commitment” to reaching a “peaceful solution to the dispute,” with full respect for international law and the interests of those who live on the islands. Argentina and Britain battled over the islands from April 2 to June 14, 1982, leading to the death of 649 Argentine soldiers, 255 British soldiers and three islanders.