US President Donald Trump has indicated he would be prepared to back Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s deal to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.The agreement includes a plan to lease back the strategically important US-UK military base on Diego Garcia at British taxpayers’ expense.The UK has offered Trump an effective veto on the deal because of its implications for US security, and allies of the president have criticised the plan.However the US president, speaking in the Oval Office alongside Sir Keir, said: “We’re going to have some discussions about that very soon, and I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well.”He continued: “They’re talking about a very long-term, powerful lease, a very strong lease, about 140 years actually.”That’s a long time, and I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country.”Under the Chagos plan, the UK is expected to lease Diego Garcia for 99 years, with an option for a 40-year extension. However, progress has been delayed to allow the new US administration to look at details of the deal.Foreign Secretary David Lammy had suggested on ITV’s Peston programme the agreement could be off if it did not get the president’s backing “because we have a shared military and intelligence interest with the United States and of course they’ve got to be happy with the deal”. Earlier this month, Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam said US representatives would be present in negotiations over the islands.The plan to cede sovereignty of the archipelago, known officially as the British Indian Ocean Territory, was announced in October 2024 after a deal was reached with former Mauritian leader Pravind Jugnauth.However, Jugnauth conceded def …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnUS President Donald Trump has indicated he would be prepared to back Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s deal to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.The agreement includes a plan to lease back the strategically important US-UK military base on Diego Garcia at British taxpayers’ expense.The UK has offered Trump an effective veto on the deal because of its implications for US security, and allies of the president have criticised the plan.However the US president, speaking in the Oval Office alongside Sir Keir, said: “We’re going to have some discussions about that very soon, and I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well.”He continued: “They’re talking about a very long-term, powerful lease, a very strong lease, about 140 years actually.”That’s a long time, and I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country.”Under the Chagos plan, the UK is expected to lease Diego Garcia for 99 years, with an option for a 40-year extension. However, progress has been delayed to allow the new US administration to look at details of the deal.Foreign Secretary David Lammy had suggested on ITV’s Peston programme the agreement could be off if it did not get the president’s backing “because we have a shared military and intelligence interest with the United States and of course they’ve got to be happy with the deal”. Earlier this month, Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam said US representatives would be present in negotiations over the islands.The plan to cede sovereignty of the archipelago, known officially as the British Indian Ocean Territory, was announced in October 2024 after a deal was reached with former Mauritian leader Pravind Jugnauth.However, Jugnauth conceded def …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
