St Martin's seizure bid inexact: US state dept

The US State Department has brushed off talks of a potential American takeover of St Martin's island, which recently gained traction in Bangladesh's political realm, reports bdnews24.com.
The US department labelled such claims as 'inaccurate'.
"We respect Bangladesh's sovereignty, and we have never engaged in any conversations about taking over St Martin's Island," Matthew Miller, a state department spokesperson, told a media briefing on Tuesday.
The discussion was fuelled by comments of Rashed Khan Menon MP, president of the Workers Party of Bangladesh, who claimed in parliament that the US had eyes on the southernmost island of the country.
It came to the forefront once again during a recent press conference held by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who said she would never compromise Bangladesh's sovereignty to stay in power.
Addressing the matter, Hasina accused the BNP of rising to power in 2001 on the promise of 'selling gas' and questioned whether it was looking to do the same again by offering to 'sell' St Martin's.
Mr Miller, however, outlined the US commitment to strengthening ties with Bangladesh.
"We value our partnership with Bangladesh. We strive to bolster our relationship by working together to promote democracy by supporting free and fair elections."
With US-Bangla bilateral ties becoming increasingly strained, six US Congressmen recently wrote to President Joe Biden, seeking a ban on Bangladeshis from taking part in the UN peacekeeping missions.
At an event on Sunday, state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam called the Congressmen 'enemies of Bangladesh'.
"It's really unfortunate that [they spoke against] our army, police and law-enforcers, who have contributed to peacekeeping missions without pause for the last decade," he said.