Argentine President Nestor Kirchner on Sunday reaffirmed his country's legitimate sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, while vowing to make efforts to solve the dispute through dialogue.

"The claim for the islands is a permanent objective and undeniable right of the Argentine people," Kirchner said on the 24th anniversary of the 1982 war with Britain over the islands in South Atlantic.

He stressed that the Argentine government chose to solve the dispute through dialogue and diplomacy and by peaceful means.

The president said he was willing to hold talks with the British government, but London "must show willingness to negotiate the sovereignty of the islands."

Kirchner also praised highly the patriotism and the spirit of sacrifice that the Argentine people showed in the 74-day war, which killed 649 Argentine soldiers and 255 British troops.

Kirchner's speech was echoed by Jorge Chevalier, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Argentine armed forces, who considered the fallen soldiers as "neglected heroes."

In recent years, veterans of the war have been demanding better health care and grants for the education of their children.

Government officials, military officers and veteran soldiers took part in Sunday's commemoration at El Palmomar military base west of the capital Buenos Aires.

Argentina and Britain have been disputed over the Malvinas Islands (called the Falklands by Britons) since 1833, long before the war broke out in 1982.

Argentina's defeat in the war contributed to the fall of the country's military dictatorship, which ran from 1976 to 1983.

Source: Xinhua