Trump expected to honor Australian asylum seeker deal

 U.S. President Donald Trump has assured the Australian government he will honor a deal to take around 2,000 asylum seeker from Australia's offshore processing centers at Manus Island and Nauru, local media reported on Sunday.

There were doubts Trump would go through with the deal - brokered between Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the previous Obama administration - after the new president issued an executive order restricting asylum seekers from entering the United States.

Following a 25-minute phone call between Trump and Turnbull on Sunday morning, the Australian government is confident the asylum seekers will be accepted by the United States.

In a brief statement issued by the White House following the phone call, it was said that the Australia-U.S. relationship remained as strong as ever.

"Both leaders emphasized the enduring strength and closeness of the US-Australia relationship that is critical for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and globally," the statement said.

Meanwhile Australia's Immigration Minister Peter Dutton refused to confirm the asylum seekers would be taken by the United States, but did say the government would continue to "work with" the United States to come up with an acceptable agreement.

There is still speculation surrounding how many of the roughly 2,000 asylum seekers, currently on Manus Island and in Nauru, will be resettled on Unites States soil.

source: Xinhua