LONDON

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke by phone Tuesday with US President Donald Trump about Ukraine ahead of peace talks and about a deal by the UK to cede control back to Mauritius of the Chagos Islands, which include the key Diego Garcia military base.

Starmer and Trump discussed the situation in Ukraine, including Russian attacks on the country overnight, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.

Russian forces’ "fierce attacks" on Ukraine's critical infrastructure, including energy systems, were "particularly depraved" as temperatures dropped below minus 20C (-4F), Starmer told Trump.

The White House announced Tuesday that the US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will attend trilateral negotiations with Russia and Ukraine in the United Arab Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and Thursday.

Turning to Diego Garcia military base as part of the Chagos Islands deal, the leaders recognized the base's strategic importance.

"The leaders agreed their governments would continue working closely to guarantee the future operation of the base and speak again soon," the statement added.

Last month, planned parliamentary debates on the UK's deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius were delayed following backlash from Trump.

The debate over the Chagos Archipelago deal resurfaced after Trump criticized the agreement signed by the UK and Mauritius as "an act of great stupidity."

In May last year, the UK and Mauritius signed a deal to transfer sovereignty over the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, ending over two centuries of British rule, in exchange for allowing the US and UK to continue operating the strategically important Diego Garcia military base for the next 99 years.

The agreement has not yet entered into force, as it is pending domestic ratification.

The Chagos Archipelago, a group of seven atolls comprising over 60 islands in the central Indian Ocean, is located about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of the Maldives.