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UK-US co-operation will remain strong, says Biden

The US president thanked Liz Truss for her partnership over the war in Ukraine.

Gavin Cordon
Thursday 20 October 2022 16:47 BST
Prime Minister Liz Truss holds a bilateral with US President Joe Biden at the UN building in New York, during her visit to the US to attend the 77th UN General Assembly (Toby Melville/PA)
Prime Minister Liz Truss holds a bilateral with US President Joe Biden at the UN building in New York, during her visit to the US to attend the 77th UN General Assembly (Toby Melville/PA) (PA Wire)

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President Joe Biden has said the United States and the UK will continue their “close co-operation” in the wake of the resignation of Liz Truss.

In a statement, Mr Biden – who only met Ms Truss once in the course of her brief premiership – thanked her for her partnership on a range of issues, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“The United States and the United Kingdom are strong allies and enduring friends — and that fact will never change,” he said.

We will continue our close co-operation with the UK Government as we work together to meet the global challenges our nations face

President Joe Biden

“I thank Prime Minister Liz Truss for her partnership on a range of issues including holding Russia accountable for its war against Ukraine.

“We will continue our close cooperation with the UK Government as we work together to meet the global challenges our nations face.”

The sole meeting between the two leaders took place in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.

The encounter came amid tensions between London and Washington over the Northern Ireland Protocol with concerns in the White House that the row with the EU could jeopardise the Good Friday peace agreement.

In a surprise intervention at the weekend, Mr Biden criticised Ms Truss’s by then abandoned tax-cutting agenda describing it as a “mistake”.

French President Emmanuel Macron said it was important at a time of international tensions to see political stability restored in the UK.

He said that his dealings with Ms Truss, who he saw earlier this month at the inaugural meeting of the European Political Community in Prague, had been “very constructive”.

“France, as a friend of the British people, wishes for stability,” he said.

“In this context of war and tensions over the energy crisis, it is important that Great Britain sets out again on the path of political stability and that’s all I wish for.

“On a personal level, I am always sad to see a colleague leave and I hope that stability will come back.”

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