Mauritius has issued a fiery swipe at Britain after Keir Starmer delayed the announcement of the Chagos Islands bill following a loss of support from Donald Trump.
The nation promised to exhaust all available options to regain sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.
Speaking at an Indian Ocean Conference held in Port Louis, Foreign Minister Dhananjay Ramful declared the nation would pursue every possible route to achieve this goal.
"We will spare no effort to seize any diplomatic or legal avenue to complete the decolonisation process in this part of the Indian Ocean," Mr Ramful said.
TRENDING
Stories
Videos
Your Say
"This is a matter of justice."
The archipelago's principal island, Diego Garcia, houses a joint military facility operated by Britain and the United States.
The Government has been compelled to suspend legislation transferring the islands to Mauritius owing to opposition from Washington.
Mauritian Foreign Minister Dhananjay Ramful declared he would pursue every possible route to reclaim the Chagos Islands
|MAURITIAN GOV
US President Donald Trump previously condemned the proposed arrangement as "an act of great stupidity," adding it was a "big mistake".
His criticism has proved decisive in halting the parliamentary process.
Reports indicate the necessary legislation now faces insufficient time to pass through Parliament ahead of next month's King's Speech, with no new bill currently scheduled.
A Government spokesman indicated Britain would persist in arguing to Washington that the agreement represents the optimal approach to safeguarding the base's future operations.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
US President Donald Trump previously condemned the Chagos deal as 'an act of great stupidity'
|WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Mauritius Attorney General Gavin Glover said the development had been anticipated, attributing the impasse to deteriorating relations between Mr Trump and Sir Keir.
Speaking to a local newspaper, Glover emphasised the interconnected nature of the dispute with bilateral Anglo-American dynamics.
"We are dependent on Anglo-American relations...the USA and Britain will have to reach an agreement," Glover said.
He noted that resolution would ultimately require Washington and London to find common ground.
The suspended agreement would have seen Britain surrender sovereignty while paying approximately £35billion for the military base
|WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Talks between Mauritian representatives and British government officials are scheduled to take place on 22 April to address the future of the Chagos arrangement.
The meeting will represent the next opportunity for the two nations to negotiate a path forward on the stalled agreement.
The suspended agreement would have seen Britain surrender sovereignty while paying approximately £35billion to lease back the military installation for 99 years.
The archipelago's position in the middle of the Indian Ocean provides crucial military capabilities and serves as a counterweight to Chinese regional influence.
Between the late 1960s and 1970s, Britain forcibly removed up to 2,000 indigenous Chagossians to establish the Diego Garcia air base.