The British government’s plans to hand control of the strategically significant Chagos Islands to Mauritius are set to be signed off on Thursday, after an 11th-hour legal injunction failed to stop an effort that has been intensely controversial in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

Mauritius and Russia have agreed to strengthen ties, amid fears that the UK was too hasty in deciding to hand over the Chagos Islands.

Britain can conclude a deal with Mauritius on the future of the Chagos Islands on Thursday after a judge at London's High Court overturned an eleventh-hour injunction which had blocked the agreement being signed earlier.