&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump calls UK PM Burnham 'natural business person' but criticises 'terrible' Chagos deal")
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham met US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), marking their first face-to-face bilateral meeting. Both appeared to get along well with Trump calling Burnham a "natural business person." Trump remained polite and friendly throughout and also called Burnham was going to be a "great prime minister" and that he had "a lot of assets on his side," adding that the US was with him "all the way." In response, Burnham thanked the president before touting their “good connection.” Both the leaders discussed Ukraine, the Falkland Islands, and trade issues.
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US President Donald Trump has said Andy Burnham is a man he can do business with, adding that UK-US relations are "more up now" that Burnham is in power. Speaking to reporters, Burnham said he had "established a good connection" with Trump and they had "taken that further today." The US president added that UK's "terrible" deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and pay to lease back a joint UK-US military base on the archipelago's largest island, Diego Garcia. Burnham, in response said that the UK will "work hard" to find a resolution between the different sides and he is “confident we can find it working with our US partners.” The agreement would see the UK cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius and pay an average of £101m ($136m) per year to lease back the military base - but in April the deal was paused indefinitely because Trump pulled his support. Burnham also said that discussions included the Falkland Islands, which have been the subject of comments by the US president and Argentina's president Javier Milei. The Falklands, in the south-west Atlantic Ocean, remain the subject of a sovereignty dispute between Britain and Argentina, more than 40 years on from an armed conflict over the territory.
Burnham later said he had explained to Trump that Britain has been in "too much turbulence" in recent times but it is time to "turn the story" about the country into a positive one. The US president added that the UK is a country with "great patriotism", and he thinks it is "waiting for good leadership, waiting for success".
Speaking on Tuesday, Trump said: “I think the prime minister is going to be looking at [the deal].” Burnham replied: "Yep."
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He later told broadcasters he has “inherited the situation and we need a resolution.” Burnham added: "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. “What I said in the meeting is that we will work to find that resolution between the different sides, and we'll work hard to find it.”
