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U.S. and U.K. Share Common Priorities
On a recent visit to London, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Lammy to discuss foreign policy priorities shared by both nations.
Chief among them is continued support for Ukraine, said Secretary Blinken.
“Together, we're working to make sure that Ukraine can defend its territory against the ongoing aggression, that it will be able to stand strongly on its own two feet, militarily, economically, democratically, and that it will remain on the path that the Ukrainian people so desire to be on a closer integration with Europe, with transatlantic institutions.”
Secretary Blinken and Foreign Secretary Lammy also discussed joint efforts to ensure peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea.
“For both of us, maintaining peace and stability, preserving the status quo is essential. And it’s essential not just to us; it's again essential to countries all around the world,” said Secretary Blinken.
In order to wage war on Ukraine, Putin is acquiring weapons from Iran and the DPRK in clear violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, said Secretary Blinken:
“Tehran has long supplied deadly drones. It's built a drone factory in Russia. It's trained Russian personnel on how to operate them. For some time, the United States has warned of an additional threat: The provision by Iran of ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine. ... Russia has now received shipments of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine against Ukrainians.”
Russia is sharing technology that Iran seeks, including on nuclear issues as well as some space information. Secretary Blinken warned that this could lead to “significant economic consequences for Tehran's actions.”
On Israel and Gaza, both leaders discussed efforts to prevent the crisis in the Middle East from escalating. “Our nations helped Israel defend itself against an unprecedented attack from Iran a few months ago. We're prepared to act together to help Israel defend itself in the future,” said Secretary Blinken. “We're equally determined to end the conflict in Gaza as soon as possible.”
The United States is grateful to have a strong partner in the United Kingdom to take on the urgent challenges facing the transatlantic community.