First world leader to speak with Britain’s new PM Truss was Ukraine’s Zelensky, then Biden
- US President Joe Biden and new UK Prime Minister Liz Truss spoke on phone with ‘special relationship’ at stake
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was the first foreign leader who spoke with Truss, invited her to Ukraine
With Liz Truss as the new British prime minister, the “special relationship” with the United States is potentially on course for redefinition with a conservative leader who is much more of a hardliner than her predecessor.
US President Joe Biden spoke to his counterpart Tuesday afternoon, following Truss’ call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was the first foreign leader to do so.
The conversation between Biden and Truss set the tone for the future working relationship of two allies that have been historically close but do not always see eye-to-eye.
Truss, who replaces Boris Johnson, told Biden that she also looked forward to “working closely” with Washington “as leaders of free democracies to tackle shared challenges,” a Downing Street spokeswoman said.
They include “the extreme economic problems unleashed by (Russian President) Putin’s war,” she added in a readout of their call.
It comes amid reported concerns in the United States over Truss, after her one-year tenure as foreign secretary saw post-Brexit tensions in Northern Ireland surface and strain Britain’s ties with Brussels, Dublin and Washington.
