After initially saying he supported the deal, the US president called it a “big mistake.” London stood by the agreement, saying it was the “only way” to guarantee a strategic joint military base with the US.
USPresident Donald Trump has publicly told UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer that London should not give away the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Trump took to his Truth Social account to post that the UK would be making a “big mistake” if it hands the islands over.
As part of the plan, the UK would lease the base on Diego Garcia — which hosts both US and UK soldiers — from Mauritius, costing London 35 billion pounds ($47.3 billion, €40.14 billion) over the next 100 years.
“Prime Minister Starmer should not lose control, for any reason, of Diego Garcia, by entering a tenuous, at best, 100 Year Lease,” Trump posted, adding such a move would be a “blight on our Great Ally.”
While saying the US will help in defending the UK, London should “remain strong in the face of Wokeism and other problems put before them.”
Trump wrote that the Diego Garcia base could be needed to launch attacks against Iran.
Trump’s post comes a day after the US approved the deal, with the State Department saying it “supports the decision of the United Kingdom to proceed with its agreement with Mauritius concerning the Chagos archipelago.”
Trump himself previously backed the deal earlier in February, labeling it “the best [UK leader Starmer] could make.”
The change in position in the US prompted criticism of Starmer’s government.
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel called the US president’s quotes “an utter humiliation” for Starmer, adding that it is time the UK leader “saw sense, U-turned and scrapped this appalling deal altogether.”
A UK Foreign Office spokesperson defended the deal, saying it would be “the only way to guarantee the long-term future of this vital military base.”
Edited by: Sean Sinico
DW News
