London - President Carlos Menem of Argentina will lay a wreath at the Falklands War memorial at St Paul's Cathedral in London later today, writes Rachel Donnelly.
It is his first full day of a six-day visit to Britain intended to "open a new page" in the relationship between the two countries, as both sides insist the visit is about reconciliation, not recrimination over the 1982 conflict.
The Argentinian leader flew into Britain yesterday as the Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, and the Argentinian ambassador to Britain, Mr Rogelio Pfirter, both stressed that, while the disputed sovereignty of the Falkland Islands would be on the agenda, there would be no substantive negotiations on the issue.
Mr Cook even hinted that, should the visit prove a success, Britain could lift the embargo on arms sales to the country. The Labour MP Mr Tam Dalyell said Mr Menem's visit was about "little else" than to discuss the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. Indeed, there are other issues such as oil and fishing rights that are likely to frustrate Mr Menem's talks with the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, when they meet tomorrow.