The signing of the Shaghus Islands with Mauritius is scheduled

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The United Kingdom is scheduled to sign a controversial deal to hand over the Shaghus Islands to Mauritius as soon as possible on Thursday, according to people familiar with the matter.

The deal, which is expected to see the UK agrees to pay billions of pounds to maintain the access to the American Diego Garcia military base in the United States while moving the sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, has waited strongly because of the strategic importance of the site.

The long -planned arrangement for British Indian Ocean lands He was severely criticized by the opposition Conservative Party, which accused the UK Prime Minister Sir Kerr Starmer of abandoning major strategic assets and taxpayers who are advancing with great payments to maintain access.

However, the US criticism of the arrangement was kept secret during President Donald Trump’s era. The United States and the United Kingdom are scheduled to maintain the base under a 99 -year lease.

Pitti Patel, the UK Foreign Minister, said on Wednesday that the deal will be “a betrayal of our national interest by the Labor Party, which was appropriately timid for the last day before the parliamentary holiday.”

After the UK has completed the post -Britain’s re -exit from the European Union in relations with Brussels earlier this week, “it seems that Starmer has now been appointed to insult this country by handing our sovereign lands to Mauritius, then the British public is asked to pay billions of billions in exchange for neglecting it.”

The Labor Party has already said that the deal would not be completed until it is ratified by the deputies.

Party officials argued that the deal started under the previous conservative government and that it was necessary to reach an agreement on the sovereignty of the islands under international law.

The UK government handed over the US administration in effect on the draft agreement, given its security effects on a joint military base in the United Kingdom in Diego Garcia.

But when Trump hosted Starmer at the White House in February, he indicated that he would do Support the deal The United Kingdom has negotiated with Mauritius, as it was seen as an important victory for the British Prime Minister.

The president’s support for the deal was a relief to the United Kingdom because some of the Trump administration officials, including Former National Security Adviser Mike WalzIt raised concerns about the arrangement before joining the White House.

“President Trump’s privilege is to secure long -term US operations from Diego Garcia,” a White House official said on Wednesday. “President Trump discussed this with Prime Minister Starmer during his visit to the White House. The UK is on the deal.”