April 11 (UPI) -- After an about-face by the Trump administration, Britain said it is pausing a plan to transfer ownership of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius because it cannot complete the deal without U.S. support.
Britain on Friday said it is abandoning a deal to return sovereignty to the islands, which would have permitted the both countries to continue using the military base in Deigo Garcia they have operated since the 1970s, because there is not enough time for the U.K.'s parliament to pass a legislation on it, The Guardian reported.
The islands have been controlled by Britain since the 1800s, though in 1968 it granted independence to Maritius -- which it also had controlled -- but kept possession of the Chagos Islands.
President Donald Trump had in 2024 offered support for Britain to return the islands in return for continued use of the base, which includes billions in annual payments for doing so.
Trump withdrew his support for the deal earlier this year, calling it a "great act of stupidity," less than a year after Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration called the deal an "historic" achievement, at least partially because it kept the Diego Garcia base in use.
