STORY: :: File
Britain is putting on hold a deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, after it was criticized by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Indian Ocean island chain is home to the strategic U.S.-British Diego Garcia air base.
Washington had previously backed the agreement, made last year.
It would see Britain cede the islands to Mauritius, but retain control of the military base on a 99-year lease.
U.S. support is needed for the deal to go ahead.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said on Saturday, London would try to persuade Washington to give its formal approval.
Trump said in February that the deal was a "big mistake" - despite having said it was the best that Starmer would get.
Ties between the U.S. and UK have become strained over Trump's ambitions to acquire Greenland...
And Starmer's reluctance to get Britain involved in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
A British government spokesperson said ensuring the long-term operational security of Diego Garcia remains a priority.
And that it still believes the agreement is the best way forward.
:: File
Britain forcibly displaced up to 2,000 indigenous Chagossians in the late 1960s and 1970s to establish the base.
Recent operations launched from Diego Garcia include bombing strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen in 2024 and 2025, and humanitarian aid deployments to Gaza.
The campaign group Indigenous Chagossian People has raised questions about what they said were "enormous sums of money...wasted on a collapsed negotiation".
They also doubted the legality of the plan, which they say denies the Chagossians their right to self-determination.
