Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner, president of Argentina, has issued an open letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron in two UK newspapers.

The letter demands the UK to return the Falkland Islands (known as the Malvinas Island in Argentina) to her country. It was published as an advertisement in the Guardian and the Independent.

You can read the full letter over at the Guardian.

Over the last year or so the centuries-old tension over the ownership of the islands (just off the southern tip of South America) has reignited, with the Mercosur bloc, which includes Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, banning ports in the region from allowing ships with Falkland Island flags, and anti-UK protests in Argentina.

The tension between the two countries, who went to war over the islands in 1982, may well have been sparked in 2011 after UK companies discovered oil near the islands. A complicated history leaves the sovereignty of the islands in question as the BBC notes, the history described in Fernandez's letter does not match the official UK history.

David Cameron has rejected the letter, pointing instead to a referendum due to be held this year in the Falkland Islands. The referendum is widely expected to be won by those who wish to remain linked with the UK most on the island are descended from British settlers and new immigration is restricted.

British popular opinions stands behind those on the islands: one recent poll showed 61 percent of British polled felt they should be defended "at all costs".

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Argentinian President Reignites Falkland Islands Row With Open Letter In UK Newspapers