(THE PAVLOVIC TODAY) — The UK’s Prime Minister Liz Truss had today at UNGA in New York her first formal work meeting with President Biden. The two spoke of the life and funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II, the unified response to the war in Ukraine, and energy and economic security for Britain.
Biden and Truss also touched upon the Northern Ireland Protocol, the deal the EU and the UK agreed upon after Brexit, putting customs checks on goods transported from the British mainland to Northern Ireland. Truss as Foreign Secretary led efforts to scrap parts of the protocol.
“We are both committed to protecting the gains from the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, and I look forward to hearing what’s on your mind and how we can continue to cooperate,” said Biden.
Truss said she was “looking forward to discussing the Belfast Good Friday Agreement, and how we make sure that’s upheld into the future.”
Commenting on an “appalling” war Russia is waging against Ukraine, Truss said “we face huge challenges as autocracies seek to cement and increase their assertiveness around the world.”
Before today’s bilat, Biden and Truss spoke on the phone on September 6, just as Truss took over in No10. They then discussed the war in Ukraine, China, the Iran nuclear deal, and “the importance of reaching a negotiated agreement with the European Union on the Northern Ireland Protocol.”
On her way to New York, Liz Truss said her “number one issue” for the meeting with Biden was “global security and making sure that we are able to collectively deal with Russian aggression.” Another priority is ensuring “we are not strategically dependent on authoritarian regimes.”
