PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer and US president Donald Trump have agreed to work “closely” to keep the Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean functioning, the prime minister’s office said on Tuesday.
The agreement follows criticism by Trump last month over the UK’s decision to return the Chagos islands, which include Diego Garcia, to Mauritius.
The islands have been the subject of a long-running diplomatic dispute. Trump had earlier endorsed the agreement.
Downing Street said the base was discussed during a telephone call between Trump and Starmer, details of which were released late on Tuesday.
“The leaders agreed their governments would continue working closely to guarantee the future operation of the base and speak again soon,” the prime minister’s office said.
Under a deal agreed in May last year, Britain will hand back the Chagos islands to Mauritius but retain the Diego Garcia base, which is jointly operated by US and British forces, on a 99-year lease.
Trump criticised the agreement in a social media post last month.
“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired,” Trump said on January 20.
Starmer said the US president’s remarks were an attempt to apply pressure on him at a time when several European countries were resisting US claims over Greenland, a Danish territory.
(With inputs from agencies)
FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past a poster displaying a message of defiance to the terror attack of May 22 at the Manchester Arena, in Manchester, northwest England on May 31, 2017. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
