On London visit, Biden calls relations with Britain ‘rock solid’

By Mehmet Solmaz

LONDON (AA) - Meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at his office on Monday, US President Joe Biden hailed the “rock-solid” relationship between the US and Britain.

The pair were photographed outside the door of 10 Downing Street shaking hands before going inside for a meeting that lasted 40 minutes.

Biden said he “couldn’t be meeting with a closer friend and greater ally” despite the recent disagreements over whether Ukraine’s accession to NATO should be fast-tracked and Washington’s plans to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions.

In an interview on Sunday, Biden said Kyiv is “not ready” to join NATO and that membership could only take place once the war is over, while the UK has been vocal about a fast-track accession of Ukraine to the North Atlantic alliance.

The US decision to arm Ukraine with the controversial cluster bombs caused a rift among NATO members ahead of the alliance’s summit this week in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. The British premier recently said the UK “discourages” the use of the weapons.

During their brief meeting in London, Sunak reportedly talked about bilateral relations, saying the pair would consider ways to further strengthen cooperation for the “joint economic security to the benefit of our citizens.”

“We stand as two of the firmest allies in that alliance and I know we’ll want to do everything we can to strengthen Euro-Atlantic security,” Sunak said.

Following his meeting with Sunak, Biden left central London to head west for his first in-person meeting with King Charles III at Windsor Castle.