Mauritius has received support from Russia for the return of the Chagos Archipelago, territories that Port Louis seeks to return from the United Kingdom, Ambassador of Mauritius to Moscow Heswar Janke told Sputnik.
"I think we, including our government, are still working on this issue [the situation with the Chagos Archipelago]. We receive support from many countries, including Russia.... We need support for the return of the Chagos Islands, this is a long process, and we, the Mauritians, our state, are aimed at bringing them back," Janke told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa IT forum.
The ambassador noted that this year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Mauritius, and bilateral relations are developing well.
The Chagos is one of seven atolls in the Indian Ocean, its nationality is the subject of dispute between the United Kingdom, which controls the territory, and Mauritius.
In the early 19th century, Britain took control of the Chagos archipelago, which was administered as part of the British colony of Mauritius. However, when Mauritius gained independence from the UK in 1968, the Chagos Archipelago was not fully returned to the African island nation. This decision was made two years prior, as Britain planned to create a joint military base with the US on Diego Garcia, the largest of the 60 small islands in the Chagos Archipelago.
The indigenous population of the archipelago, known as the Chagossians, was forced to leave the island when the UK-US base was established. Since then, the government of Port Louis and the Chagossians have been fighting in British courts to regain control of the territory.
In 2019, Mauritius' efforts were successful when the International Court of Justice ruled that Britain must end its "unlawful" administration of the Indian Ocean territory. The UN also passed a General Assembly resolution stating that the Chagos Archipelago is an integral part of the territory of Mauritius, and calling on the UK to withdraw within six months.
However, as of November 2022, the UK has not withdrawn its troops from the territory, with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly stating that Britain intends to resolve all outstanding issues relating to the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago based on international law. In early January of this year, the UK and Mauritius began negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the disputed archipelago in the Indian Ocean.