by Steve Holland and Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON, Sept 7 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and Britain’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss agreed in a phone call on Tuesday to strengthen their bilateral relationship amid a united front against Russia since the start of the war. in Ukraine.
“I look forward to strengthening the special relationship between our countries and working closely together in the face of global challenges, including continued support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian aggression,” the leader wrote on Twitter. tenant of the White House, who congratulated Liz Truss on her rise to power in the United Kingdom.
It is possible that the two leaders will meet this month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Downing Street reported that Liz Truss and Joe Biden discussed the strengthening of cooperation within NATO and the trilateral security agreement concluded last year between the two countries and Australia.
The British Prime Minister looks forward “to working closely with President Biden as leaders of free democracies to tackle shared challenges, in particular the extreme economic problems created by Putin’s war”, her office said in a statement. .
Victorious in an internal Conservative Party vote to appoint the successor to Boris Johnson, who resigned, Liz Truss was formally appointed Prime Minister on Tuesday.
Despite tensions between former US President Donald Trump and former UK Prime Minister Theresa May, US-UK relations have remained strong in recent years.
Washington and London are on the same page in their aid to Kyiv in the face of Moscow’s invasion and in their fight against China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific.
However, a trade agreement between the two countries, strongly desired by the United Kingdom after Brexit, has barely materialized.
Joe Biden, who got along well with Boris Johnson, could also have a more tense relationship with Liz Truss because of the question of Northern Ireland. The American president is opposed to any measure that risks jeopardizing peace in the country, while the British Prime Minister, as an MP, voted to leave the Northern Irish protocol agreed with the European Union in the context of Brexit. . (Reporting Trevor Hunnicutt, Steve Holland and Simon Lewis; French version Jean Terzian)