Trump hosts Board of Peace, calls UK Chagos move a ‘big mistake’ - VIDEO

U.S. President Donald Trump has launched a fresh attack on the United Kingdom’s planned Chagos Islands deal, just hours after the U.S. State Department signaled support for the agreement.

Trump said Britain was making a “big mistake” by agreeing to cede sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, marking the third time he has shifted his stance on the issue in recent months, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Under the proposed arrangement, the U.K. would transfer control of the Chagos Islands, its last overseas territory in Africa, while retaining a 99-year lease on Diego Garcia, home to a strategically vital U.S.-British military base.

London has argued the deal would secure the long-term future of the base amid mounting international legal pressure and allow displaced islanders to pursue resettlement.

Trump had initially expressed support for the plan last May but later denounced it as an act of “total weakness” and “great stupidity.” Earlier this month he again appeared to back the agreement after speaking with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

In a new post, however, Trump dismissed the territorial claims behind the deal as “fictitious in nature” and urged Britain to “remain strong in the face of Wokeism.”

The State Department said Tuesday that Washington supported Britain’s approach and is preparing for bilateral security talks with Mauritius next week. But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Trump’s latest comments should be treated as official administration policy.

“The post should be taken as the policy of the Trump administration,” Leavitt said.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada