British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden discussed China, Iran, and Russia at a meeting in Cornwall, England. This is stated in a statement issued on Thursday by the office of the head of the British government following the talks between the two politicians.
“They discussed a number of foreign policy issues, including Afghanistan, China, Iran, and Russia,” Downing Street said in a communique. Details of the topics covered are not provided.
As follows from the statement, the main topic of the negotiations between Johnson and Biden concerned the relations between London and Washington.
“The Prime Minister and the President discussed the importance of the UK-US relationship to protect our people, improve the well-being of both countries and promote our values around the world,” the communique said.
The two leaders “agreed that the partnership between the UK and the US is more important today than ever,” especially in a situation of joint challenges such as climate change and restoring peace after the coronavirus pandemic.
“Noting the importance of not only commercial but also human ties between the United Kingdom and the United States, they also agreed to work to resume travel and continue to share information that will help defeat the spread of the coronavirus in our countries and internationally,” 10 Downing Street said in a statement. The leaders of the United Kingdom and the United States decided to continue to cooperate in reaching a future agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States, “which will create jobs and open up new opportunities for both countries.”
According to the office, Johnson expressed hope that the US president will attend the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-26), which will be held in Glasgow. “The leaders [of the UK and the US] agreed not only to work towards zero greenhouse gas emissions but also to make sure that the economies of developing countries have access to green technologies, “the statement said.
Britain and the United States are committed to effective arms control and building a world without nuclear weapons, the two leaders said. “While our nuclear deterrence and modernization [weapons] programs are closely interlinked, we reaffirm our commitment to effective arms control and nuclear security, as well as to the goal of building a world free of nuclear weapons,” the document says.
It stresses that London and Washington intend to “continue to strengthen the world’s closest bilateral partnership in the field of defense, security and intelligence” in order to adapt it to the ” evolving threats of the twenty-first century.” “This includes challenges related to cyberspace, foreign interference, malicious influence campaigns, illegal financial flows, violent conflicts, extremism, and terrorism in all its manifestations,” the statement said.
The parties also agreed to work on “shaping the future international order with NATO as the cornerstone” of collective defense. “We will work together to strengthen and modernize NATO and increase its funding so that it can have the full range of military and non-military capabilities to meet existing and emerging threats, including cyber activity and attacks that test our societies,” the statement said.
Regarding the maintenance of democracy, the United States and the United Kingdom pledged in a joint communique to ” continue to make practical efforts to support open societies around the world.” According to the statement, the joint activities of Washington and London in this direction will include the protection of media freedom, the promotion of a free and open Internet, the fight against corruption and disinformation, the political empowerment of women, the protection of freedom of religion and belief, as well as the promotion of human rights.
The meeting was held on the eve of the three-day Group of Seven summits in Cornwall. In addition to the United Kingdom and the United States, this informal association of seven economically developed countries of the world includes Germany, Italy, Canada, France, and Japan.
