US President Donald Trump praised UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham after their first face-to-face meeting but criticised Britain’s agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, calling it a “terrible deal”.
Trump and Burnham met for about 40 minutes on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. The two leaders discussed trade, energy and immigration, among other issues.
Speaking after the meeting, Trump said US-UK relations were improving under Burnham’s leadership.
“I think right now, based on my relationship with your prime minister, Andy, I think we’re doing very well,” Trump told reporters.
Asked about relations with Britain, Trump added: “They are more up now than they were with your last prime minister, let me put it that way.”
Trump also praised Burnham as a “natural business person” and said he believed the British leader would be a “great prime minister”.
Trump Criticises Chagos Islands Deal
Despite the positive tone, Trump raised concerns over the UK’s agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
The US president described the islands as a “very important piece of real estate, militarily and strategically” for both Britain and the US.
Trump called the agreement a “terrible deal” and suggested Burnham would review it.
A joint UK-US military base is located on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago. Under the agreement, Britain would lease the strategic island from Mauritius under a deal reportedly worth £3.4 billion.
Burnham did not reject Trump’s suggestion that the agreement could be reconsidered. Asked about the issue later, he said the deal was one he had inherited and that “we need a resolution”.
“It’s critical to safeguard the future of the base, and that matters to us for security reasons, but also clearly to the United States as well,” Burnham said.
He added that Britain would work with the US and other parties to find a resolution.
Burnham Raises Falklands And Tariffs
Burnham also said he raised the issue of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands with Trump during the meeting.
He said he had made Britain’s position clear following recent comments by Trump about the possibility of US support if Argentina were to invade the islands again.
Burnham also raised the impact of US tariffs on a factory in northeast England, although he did not identify the company.
The two leaders also differed over artificial intelligence regulation. Burnham called for internationally agreed rules governing AI, while Trump said the US would reject what he described as a “globalist scheme”.
Burnham is due to address the UN General Assembly in his first speech to the organisation, where he is expected to argue that Britain is not “on the slide” and outline his vision for a decade of economic and political renewal.
