Do not give away Diego Garcia, Trump tells UK in fresh attack on Chagos deal

(Jaroslav Lukiv – BBC) “Do not give away Diego Garcia,” US President Donald Trump has said as he criticised the UK’s plan to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back an important military base. Trump said “this land should not be taken away from the UK” and if it did it would be “a blight on our Great Ally”, in a post on social media. This comes despite Washington on Tuesday giving its official backing to London’s plan to cede sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius. In response to Trump, the UK Foreign Office said the Chagos Islands deal was “crucial to the security of the UK and our key allies, and to keeping the British people safe”. – Chagos Islands: Do not give away Diego Garcia, Trump tells UK