Donald Trump “recognises the strength” of the Chagos Islands deal, Downing Street said after the US president signalled he would back it. Mr Trump said he thought the US would be “inclined to go along” with Sir Keir Starmer’s deal to hand over sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius when the two leaders met at the White House on Thursday.
No 10 said it was right for the new US administration to look at the agreement, which was agreed under Mr Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden. 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 Mr Trump an effective veto on the deal because of its implications for US security, and allies of the president have criticised the plan. Speaking in the Oval Office alongside the Prime Minister, Mr Trump 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 said it was a “very long-term, powerful lease, a very strong lease” and that “I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country.”. Under the plan, the UK is expected to lease Diego Garcia for 99 years, with an option for a 40-year extension.
“We welcome the fact that the president recognises the strength of this deal, which is rooted in a rational and hard-headed determination to protect UK security,” the Prime Minister’s spokesman said on Friday. He would not specify timeframes but said the deal is “progressing”.
