United States President Joe Biden emphasized the solid relationship between his country and the United Kingdom this Monday before a brief meeting he had with the British Prime Minister in London.
Joe Biden praised the relationship between the two countries at the start of a meeting of about 40 minutes with Rishi Sunak, who was entitled to the red carpet, which does not always happen with visits by foreign leaders.
“I couldn’t find a better friend and ally,” the Democrat said in brief statements at the beginning.
Rishi Sunak agreed that the US and UK are “two of NATO’s strongest allies” and must find ways to “strengthen our cooperation and shared economic security for the benefit of our citizens”.
Biden will be in the UK for a brief visit of less than 24 hours, which will include a meeting with King Charles III.
Support for Ukraine was the main item on the agenda of the meeting between Biden and Sunak at the British Prime Minister’s official residence, in Downing Street, on the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, between Tuesday and Wednesday.
Kiev is expected to receive more promises of arms supplies and progress in the process of joining the Alliance in the coming days, but Biden has already said that joining the Atlantic Alliance should only happen after the end of the war.
The US head of state landed in London on Sunday evening. The visit should be a sign of the closeness between the two countries, whose leaders have met five times in the past five months.
However, the British press has reported tensions in relations between the two countries, more recently due to Washington’s perceived lack of support for British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace’s candidacy to lead NATO.
The so-called “special relationship” had previously been shaken by the absence of the US president from the coronation of Charles III in May, represented by his wife Jill, and by criticism of London’s handling of the situation in Northern Ireland since the Brexit.
Over the weekend, Rishi Sunak avoided supporting the White House’s announcement to supply Ukraine with cluster bombs, which are banned in many NATO countries.
The British Prime Minister emphasized on Saturday that the United Kingdom is a signatory to the 2008 Oslo Convention, which bans the production and use of these weapons, and therefore “discourages” their use.
In the afternoon, the US president has tea with Charles III at the royal residence at Windsor Castle, west of London.
The two heads of state are expected to speak mainly about the environment, according to the White House, namely the conclusions of a forum on climate finance in developing countries.
After London and the NATO summit in Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday, Joe Biden will travel to Finland to meet with Nordic leaders.
UK and US agree on fast entry of Sweden
Sweden must be able to join NATO soon, the president of the United States and the British prime minister agreed on Monday at a meeting in London, a British government spokesman said.
American Joe Biden and Britain’s Rishi Sunak “agreed on the need to ensure that Sweden is moving quickly towards full NATO membership”said the spokesman.
Turkey and Hungary are the only countries against Sweden’s accession.
Despite discussing and reiterating their support for Ukraine, the form of this country’s entry into the Atlantic Alliance was not mentioned during the roughly 40-minute meeting at the official Downing Street residence of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Biden said in an interview with CNN last weekend that there is no unanimity among allies on the prospects of taking Kiev “in the middle of the war”, so he will have to wait until the end of the conflict caused by the invasion of Russia in February 2022.
The United Kingdom is in favor of speeding up the process, which should be discussed at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, from Tuesday to Wednesday.
According to Sunak’s spokesman, the two leaders “discussed the progress of the counter-offensive [ucraniana] and underlined the importance of the country’s international partners being committed to its long-term defense and providing the support Ukraine needs to win this war.”
Still talking about foreign policy, they talked specifically about the Indo-Pacific region and the situation in Iran.
Biden arrived in London on Sunday evening and today began a short visit of less than 24 hours, which included a meeting with King Charles III.
After London and the NATO summit in Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday, Joe Biden will travel to Finland to meet with Nordic leaders.
Source: DN
