Argentine President Cristina Kirchner
Argentine President Cristina KirchnerReuters

Argentina's president, Cristina Kirchner, on Saturday night celebrated the victory of Jeremy Corbyn's in being elected leader of the opposition in Britain, saying he supports dialogue over the disputed Falkland Islands.

The Telegraph quoted Kirchner as having said that Corbyn, who infamously called Hamas and Hezbollah as his "friends", is a great friend of Latin America.

"Hope has triumphed," she said.

"He has actively accompanied the international community in their call for dialogue between Great Britain and Argentina over the Falklands question," added Kirchner.

She added that his victory was "a triumph for all those who work for peace and conflict resolution," and praised his "sharing of our commitment to equality".

Argentina lost a brief war with Britain over the South Atlantic territory in 1982, but still claims the islands, which it refers to as the Malvinas.

Britain, for its part, says the islands are a self-governing entity under its protection, and islanders cannot be forced to accept Argentine sovereignty.

Kirchner a few months ago angered her country’s Jewish community when she compared the country's debt crisis to William Shakespeare's infamous character Shylock.

Kirchner made the remarks on Twitter, while recounting her meeting with 10-year-old schoolchildren in Buenos Aires’s Villa Lugano neighborhood.

To understand the nation's economic problems, Kirchner asserted, the children should read Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice," in which the Jewish Shylock is portrayed as a money lender seeking revenge.

Heavily condemned in Argentine press and by the Delegation of Argentine Jewish Associations, Kirchner refused to retract her comments, choosing instead to mock the criticism she has received from Jewish groups.

"Some people are deserving of a donkey's head," she wrote, referencing yet another of the Bard's plays, "A Midsummer Night's Dream."