WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was inclined to back a deal between Britain and Mauritius over the future of a U.S.-UK military base in the Chagos Islands, in a boost for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Trump signaled his backing for the deal as he met Starmer at the White House for their first in-person talks since the Republican leader upended U.S. policy on a number of areas, from Ukraine to global trade.
Britain struck the agreement in October to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, while retaining control under a 99-year lease of the military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island of the archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
The deal, yet to be finalized with a formal treaty, had the backing of former U.S. President Joe Biden but has been mired in uncertainty since Trump’s re-election. Britain had said it would give the Trump administration chance to review the deal before finalizing it.
Sitting beside Starmer in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters the two leaders would discuss the deal at their meeting on Thursday but that he was likely to accept it.
“We’re going to have some discussions about that very soon, and I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well,” Trump said in response to a question about the deal, noting that it contained a “very long, powerful” lease over Diego Garcia.
“I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country,” he told Starmer. “It’s a little early, we have to be given the details, but it doesn’t sound bad.”
Trump’s remarks will be welcomed by Starmer, who has faced political pressure at home over the cost of the deal and the loss of British sovereignty over the islands.
The deal had come under further uncertainty in recent weeks with Mauritius’ new prime minister questioning the details of the agreement and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio raising concerns over China’s influence in the region.
When Mauritius became independent from Britain in the 1960s, London retained control of the Chagos Islands and forcibly displaced up to 2,000 people to make way for the Diego Garcia base. REUTERS
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