Mauritius Gives Britain Time to Secure US Support on Chagos Transfer

Mauritian authorities have decided to grant the United Kingdom additional time to secure US approval for the agreement transferring the sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to the island nation, said Mauritius' Attorney General Gavin Glover.

"We are not going to start a confrontation now. ... We will give the UK some time to see if they can get political approval from the US. Diplomacy is the right approach at the moment," Glover said in an interview with Bloomberg.

The agreement to transfer the archipelago, which includes Diego Garcia island hosting a US-UK military base, under Mauritian sovereignty was reached nearly a year ago. However, its implementation was suspended after US President Donald Trump, who had previously supported the initiative, called it a "big mistake." The UK has delayed the handover process pending Washington's position.

Mauritian authorities previously did not rule out going to court to assert their claims to the archipelago, but after consultations with the British delegation, the sides continued negotiations.