BREAKING

Donald Trump has backed Sir Keir Starmer's Chagos Islands deal, while reserving the right to intervene militarily if it falls apart

He says that Starmer's deal, 'according to many', is the best deal he could make in the circumstances

He says the discussions with... pic.twitter.com/yiNEhI4LVv

— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) February 5, 2026

Starmer and Trump discuss Ukraine war and Chagos Islands deal | TRT World |

Last month, Trump criticised an agreement signed by the UK to hand over the Chagos Islands, which include a military base, to Mauritius as 'an act of great stupidity'.

Amnesia and Gaza Genocide

Maldives formally rejects UK-Mauritius deal on Chagos Islands, objecting to transfer of sovereignty and launches legal action to reclaim lost maritime territory [_link]

— TRT World (@trtworld) February 5, 2026

Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 | ICJ - The Hague |

On 22 June 2017 the General Assembly adopted resolution 71/292, in which, referring to Article 65 of the Statute of the Court, it requested the Court to render an advisory opinion on the following questions:

"(a) Was the process of decolonization of Mauritius lawfully completed when Mauritius was granted independence in 1968, following the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius and having regard to international law, including obligations reflected in General Assembly resolutions 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, 2066 (XX) of 16 December 1965, 2232 (XXI) of 20 December 1966 and 2357 (XXII) of 19 December 1967?;
    (b) What are the consequences under international law, including obligations reflected in the above-mentioned resolutions, arising from the continued administration by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland of the Chagos Archipelago, including with respect to the inability of Mauritius to implement a programme for the resettlement on the Chagos Archipelago of its nationals, in particular those of Chagossian origin?"

 Thirty-one Member States of the United Nations and the African Union filed written statements, and ten States and the African Union filed written comments on the written statements. Twenty‑one States and the African Union participated in the oral proceedings, which took place from 3 to 6 September 2018.

In its Advisory Opinion delivered on 25 February 2019, the Court concluded that "the process of decolonization of Mauritius was not lawfully completed when that country acceded to independence" and that "the United Kingdom is under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible". Before reaching this conclusion, the Court first addressed the question of whether it possessed jurisdiction to give the advisory opinion requested by the General Assembly.

Having established that it did have jurisdiction to render the advisory opinion requested, the Court examined the question, raised by a number of participants, as to whether it should nevertheless decline to exercise that jurisdiction as a matter of discretion. It concluded that, in light of its jurisprudence, there were "no compelling reasons for it to decline to give the opinion requested by the General Assembly".