At the United Nations summit in New York last month, Mr Trump said he thought the “terrible” agreement should be scrapped, and called on Mr Burnham to review it.
Wes Streeting, the Defence Secretary, has said that the deal could not progress without the agreement of the White House.
At last week’s meeting in London, the Mauritian prime minister “stressed” that his country’s claim to the sovereignty of Chagos Islands, including Diego Garcia, was “not negotiable”.
He added that the “non-ratification of the treaty to date, rendered the present status quo untenable”.
Mauritian cabinet ministers were briefed about the meeting between Mr Ramgoolam and Mr Powell, and told that their PM had “made it clear to the national security adviser that, while Mauritius was open to dialogue and diplomacy in order to resolve the issue, it would be inevitable that Mauritius would take the legal route unless the matter was expeditiously resolved”.
Mr Ramgoolam also used his London trip to meet his legal team and “finalise” the Mauritian government’s “legal strategy”.
‘This madness must end’
Mr Burnham has said that he would look for a “resolution” between the United States and Mauritius over plans to give away the British territory in the Indian Ocean.
But Whitehall officials are concerned that there is no diplomatic resolution to the standoff over the Chagos Islands that would satisfy both Mauritius and the White House, despite the Prime Minister’s claim to be looking for a solution.
Last month, The Telegraph revealed that Mr Burnham was planning to wait until Mr Trump had left office to revive the Chagos deal.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
