Britain puts Chagos Islands sovereignty deal on ice following Trump’s objections
Trump criticized the treaty as an "act of total weakness," a "big mistake" and "great stupidity"
Britain's government said on Saturday it had put on hold its deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, home to a U.S.-British air base, an initiative which had been criticized by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Thus the planned legislation underpinning the deal to cede the islands to Mauritius would not be included in the government's next parliamentary agenda.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said London would try to persuade Washington to give its formal approval. Trump criticized the treaty as an "act of total weakness," a "big mistake," and "great stupidity."
Under the deal, Britain would retain control of the strategically important military base on Diego Garcia on a 99-year lease that preserves U.S. operations there. Ensuring the long-term operational security of Diego Garcia would remain a priority, a Whitehall spokesperson was quoted by Reuters as saying.
"We continue to believe the agreement is the best way to protect the long-term future of the base, but we have always said we would only proceed with the deal if it has US support. We are continuing to engage with the US and Mauritius," the spokesperson said.
The so-called "special relationship" between U.S. and Britain has come under strain in recent weeks over Starmer's reluctance to get involved in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran and his refusal at the start of the conflict to allow Americans to use British air bases to launch attacks.
US forces have since been permitted to carry out what the prime minister calls defensive strikes.
Trump has also repeatedly criticised the British leader, saying he was "not Winston Churchill" and had ruined what is often called a "special relationship" between Britain and the US