The U.S. president has reconsidered his stance on the matter several times. In February, Trump cautioned Starmer about the “big mistake” of ceding the island. “This land should remain with the U.K., and losing it would harm our Great Ally,” Trump stated.
The British government admitted earlier this week that it’s running out of time to enact the legislation.
“We still believe the agreement is the best way to secure the long-term future of the base, but we have maintained that we would proceed only if the U.S. agrees,” a U.K. government spokesperson said Saturday, as reported by the Guardian.
The deal aimed to avert a potentially costly legal conflict with Mauritius over the former colony. Following Trump’s comments last month, Mauritius began examining legal measures against London.
Toby Noskwith, spokesperson for the Indigenous Chagossian People campaign group, told Reuters that queries should be raised regarding “the vast amounts of money squandered on failed negotiations.”
The suspension of the agreement follows growing strains over military relations between Britain and the U.S. Starmer did not back the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and allowed U.K. bases to be used by Washington only for defensive purposes.
During the Middle East conflict, Iran launched two ballistic missiles at the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean, which did not hit their target.
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