Argentina’s claims to the Falklands have been roundly rejected by Gordon Brown today ahead of talks with the country’s leader.

The prime minister insisted there was “nothing to discuss” with Cristina Kirchner, the Argentine president, over sovereignty of the islands. Kirchner has pledged to secure the return of the disputed territory, which Argentina invaded in 1982.

She is expected to raise the Falklands question with more general economic concerns when she meets Mr Brown in Chile today.

But the prime minister told journalists travelling on his pre-G20 tour: “There is nothing to discuss from our side.The essential principle has always been that the islanders should determine the issue of sovereignty for themselves and, let us be clear, our first priority will always be the needs and wishes of the islanders.

“They are a proud and strong community and they have my total support and respect.”

Mr Brown said there were “ongoing discussions” about whether flights from the island should be allowed to use Argentinian territory, and whether the families of war dead from Argentina should be allowed to visit cemeteries.

“But as on this and every other issue, it is the needs and wishes of the islanders that are our first priority,” he added.

Their meeting comes at a conference for left-leaning Governments on the fifth day of the prime minister's pre-G20 tour, which has stopped in Strasbourg, New York, Brazil and now Chile.

But Mr Brown’s efforts to lay the groundwork for next week’s crunch summit in London have been beset by difficulties.

A keynote speech to the European parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday was overshadowed by the suggestion from Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England that the UK may not be able to afford a further fiscal stimulus.

Then, as Mr Brown arrived in New York, Mirek Topolanek, the Czech Prime Minister condemned Barack Obama’s fiscal stimulus package and financial bailout plans as “the way to hell”.

In Brazil on Thursday, the prime minister's call for a 100 billion US dollar package to help revive international trade was upstaged when his host Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, lambasted the “white, blue eyed people” who had caused the economic crisis.

And yesterday one of Mr Brown’s political allies inadvertently echoed one of the Tories’ most frequent criticisms of his economic stewardship.

Michelle Bachelet, president of Chile, told a press conference that her Government had been able to introduce a significant 2.8% fiscal stimulus because it had “saved in the good times”.

Although the comments came as she praised the prime minister’s leadership, it reflected David Cameron’s charge that he did not “fix the roof while the sun was shining”.

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