Trump 'inclined' to back UK's Chagos Islands deal

US President Donald Trump has indicated helium would beryllium prepared to backmost Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's woody to manus implicit sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

The statement includes a program to lease backmost the strategically important US-UK subject basal connected Diego Garcia astatine British taxpayers' expense.

The UK has offered Trump an effectual veto connected the woody due to the fact that of its implications for US security, and allies of the president person criticised the plan.

However the US president, speaking successful the Oval Office alongside Sir Keir, said: "We're going to person immoderate discussions astir that precise soon, and I person a feeling it's going to enactment retired precise well."

He continued: "They're talking astir a precise long-term, almighty lease, a precise beardown lease, astir 140 years actually.

"That's a agelong time, and I deliberation we'll beryllium inclined to spell on with your country."

Under the Chagos plan, the UK is expected to lease Diego Garcia for 99 years, with an enactment for a 40-year extension.

However, advancement has been delayed to let the caller US medication to look astatine details of the deal.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy had suggested connected ITV's Peston programme the statement could beryllium disconnected if it did not get the president's backing "because we person a shared subject and quality involvement with the United States and of people they've got to beryllium blessed with the deal".

Earlier this month, Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam said US representatives would beryllium contiguous successful negotiations implicit the islands.

The program to cede sovereignty of the archipelago, known officially arsenic the British Indian Ocean Territory, was announced successful October 2024 aft a woody was reached with erstwhile Mauritian person Pravind Jugnauth.

However, Jugnauth conceded decision successful a parliamentary predetermination a period later, and Ramgoolam has criticised the woody negotiated by his predecessor.

The statement has been mired successful uncertainty aft Trump's re-election arsenic US president, fixed respective US Republicans person argued it could present a imaginable information boost to China.

Sir Keir has besides faced questions implicit whether the wealth to wage Mauritius for leasing backmost the subject basal would travel retired of the summation successful defence spending announced earlier this week.

Mauritius, a erstwhile British colony, has agelong argued it was illegally forced to springiness the Chagos Islands distant successful instrumentality for its ain independency successful 1968.

The UK has travel nether expanding planetary unit to manus implicit power of the archipelago aft assorted United Nations bodies, including its apical tribunal and wide assembly, sided with Mauritian sovereignty claims successful caller years.

The erstwhile Conservative authorities opened negotiations implicit their ineligible presumption successful precocious 2022, but the enactment has attacked the statement struck by Labour.

Speaking to the BBC's Today programme, shadiness civilization curate Stuart Andrew said the woody was "not wrong British interests".