Trump Softens Criticism of UK’s Chagos Deal After Starmer Call

Trump backs UK-Mauritius Chagos Islands deal after Starmer call, highlighting Diego Garcia’s strategic value for US national security and military operations.

sarah

Feb 6, 2026 - 05:55

Trump Softens Criticism of UK’s Chagos Deal After Starmer Call

Donald Trump has eased his criticism of the UK's plan to hand the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius, saying the deal was the "best" one Keir Starmer had ever made.

Just last month, the US president described giving up sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory, which includes the Diego Garcia military base, as "a huge fool." He also claimed the deal was one of several "national security reasons" why the US should acquire Greenland.

Under the deal, Britain would hand over control of the islands to Mauritius but would lease the largest island, Diego Garcia, for 99 years to continue operating a joint US-UK military base there.

Trump supported the transfer when Starmer visited the White House last year.

"It's a huge folly for the UK to give up such important land, and that's one of the many national security reasons why acquiring Greenland is essential."

Read Also

Starmer Refuses to Pick Sides Between the US and China

But after a "very productive" phone call with Starmer on Thursday, Trump appeared to return to a position of approval for the deal.

The US President said that Diego Garcia is "strategically located in the middle of the Indian Ocean and, therefore, is very important to the national security of the United States."

He further said that US military operations over the past year have been successful "due to the strength of our troops, the modern capability of our equipment, and, most importantly, the strategic location of our military bases."

"I believe the deal Prime Minister Starmer has made, according to many, is the best deal he could have made."

But Trump added: "If the lease deal is ever broken in the future, or anyone threatens or endangers US operations and forces at our base, I reserve the right to militarily secure and strengthen the US presence on Diego Garcia."

"Know that I will never allow our presence on such a vital base to be weakened or endangered by false claims or environmental nonsense." Following Starmer and Trump's phone call, a Downing Street spokesperson said they "agreed on the importance of the deal to secure the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia, which is vital to shared security interests."

The spokesperson added that both also agreed that "the UK and US will continue to work together on implementing the deal."

Software Services

Launch your own casino platform today — get started now

The Conservative Party and Reform UK have strongly criticized the Chagos Islands deal. Responding to Trump's announcement, Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel said: "Today's statement by the President exposes a major weakness in the surrender deal – the lease could expire, potentially jeopardizing our national security." Our security and the security of our allies will be even more jeopardized. This deal clearly threatens our national security and is a grave strategic mistake.

"The Conservative Party's position has not changed. We have led the fight against this terrible surrender, and we will continue to fight it to the end."

Trump's U-turn comes after he softened his plans to take control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark that is a NATO member.

After talks with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum last month, Trump announced that "a framework for a future deal" on Greenland had been finalized after weeks of escalating threats.

Thank you for reading this content.