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Trump calls UK plan to hand Diego Garcia to Mauritius a “great stupidity”

20 January 2026 12:57 (UTC +04:00)

U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that the United Kingdom intends to hand over the island of Diego Garcia to Mauritius, calling such a move “a great stupidity,” APA reports.

"Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER," he said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. "There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness."

“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired,” Trump said.

The United Kingdom and Mauritius signed a deal in May to give Mauritius sovereignty over the islands, though the U.K. will lease back Diego Garcia where the U.S. base is located, for at least 99 years.

The U.S. government welcomed the agreement at the time, saying it “secures the long-term, stable, and effective operation of the joint U.S.-U.K. military facility at Diego Garcia.”