UK says sovereignty of Falklands and Gibraltar ‘non-negotiable’ after Sakos return

The sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar is “non-negotiable”, the UK government insisted through a spokesman this Monday (7) after announcing the return of an African archipelago in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius.

Last Thursday, the United Kingdom announced it would cede the 55-island Chacos archipelago, southeast of the African continent, to the Republic of Mauritius, though it added it would maintain a joint military base with the United States on the island. of Diego Garcia.

Following the announcement, Argentina’s Foreign Minister Diana Mondino took to social media on Thursday to demand her country hand over the Falkland Islands.

“We celebrate this step in the right direction and the end of outdated practices,” Mondino said on X and Instagram.

“Following the path started, we will restore full sovereignty of our Falkland Islands with concrete actions, not empty rhetoric. The Falklands were, are, and always will be Argentina,” the president added.

Asked about Mondino’s comments on Monday, British Labor Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesman said the return of the Chacos archipelago to Mauritius had “nothing to do with other overseas territories”.

The spokesman added that the agreement with Mauritius should not be seen as a precursor to other disputes and that the British government considers the Chacos case “a unique situation based on its unique history and circumstances”.

“British sovereignty over the Falklands (Malvinas) or Gibraltar is not negotiable,” the spokesman insisted, referring to the British enclave in the south of the Iberian Peninsula claimed by Spain.

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