Mauritius Denies Receiving US Offer to Purchase Chagos Islands

Mauritius has denied receiving any official offer from the United States to purchase the Chagos Islands, contradicting reports that suggested such a proposal was under consideration. The Telegraph newspaper had reported that purchasing the islands was among alternatives being evaluated by the American side. The Chagos Islands, a strategically important archipelago in the Indian Ocean, have been the subject of a long-running territorial dispute between Mauritius and the United Kingdom, which has administered the islands since the 1960s and operates a major US military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain.