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Donald Trump reported that he will support the agreement on the islands of Chagos, negotiated between the United Kingdom and Maurice, in a significant victory for Sir Keir Starmer.
Trump’s comments came when he welcomed the British Prime Minister to the White House on Thursday for bilateral discussions on the future of Ukraine.
“I have to see the details [of the Chagos Islands deal] But that doesn’t seem bad. . . I think we will be inclined to accompany your country, “said Trump, sitting next to Starmer in the oval office.
London was prepared for the verdict of the Trump administration on the proposed agreement, which would imply the United Kingdom to hand over the sovereignty of the Indian Ocean territory in Mauritius in exchange for the rental of the largest island in the archipelago. The island is home to a crucial American joint military base.
Under the agreement, agreed by Mauritius, Great Britain would rent the Diego Garcia Atoll for a first period of 99 years, with an option to extend it for an additional 40 years.
Questioned by a British journalist if he approves the agreement, Trump said: “We will soon have discussions about it, and I have the feeling that it will work very well.
“They talk about a powerful lease in the very long term, a very strong lease, about 140 years in fact-it’s long, and I think we will be inclined to accompany your country,” he added. “It’s a bit early, we have to have the details, but it doesn’t sound bad.”
India, regional power with close links with Mauritius, also supported the agreement.
British officials said the question had not been raised by the US administration during preparations for the visit, suggesting that it was not a priority for the new president.
However, the British Foreign Minister David Lammy said this week that Great Britain was extending an effective veto on the agreement to Trump because of his implications for American security.
The Diego Garcia base has been a launch ramp for long -range American bombers in the last decades and is considered a crucial listening position in the region.
Trump’s main republican allies criticized the hammered agreement between the United Kingdom and Mauritius, citing concerns that he can strengthen Chinese interests in the Indian Ocean.
Opposition deputies in Great Britain, including the leader of the British reform, Nigel Farage, who is a friend of Trump, and the conservative party chief Kemi Badenoch, also obtained contempt on the agreement, including his price of around 9 billion pounds sterling for the 99-year-old initial lease.
The British government defended the agreement, arguing that international lawyers have questioned future operations of the air base and port facilities on Diego Garcia if an agreement has not been concluded.
