Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing global energy crisis have emerged as a leading foreign policy priorities for Britain’s new prime minister Liz Truss, as she and her US counterpart Joe Biden promised to strengthen their relationship in face of Vladimir Putin’s aggression. Truss’s call to Biden on Tuesday night followed a conversation with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and focused on what she called “the extreme economic problems caused by Putin’s war”. Biden and Truss “reinforced their commitment to strengthening global liberty, tackling the risks posed by autocracies and ensuring Putin fails in Ukraine”, according to Downing Street. No 10 noted the “enduring strength of the special relationship” with the US, something that appeared at times strained during the reign of her predecessor Boris Johnson.
The leaders also committed to deepening alliances through Nato and the Aukus defence pact, established to counter China’s dominance in the Indo-Pacific region. The White House said the leaders discussed close cooperation to help Ukraine “defend itself against Russian aggression”, as well as the challenges posed by China, Iran’s ambitions to acquire nuclear weapons, securing sustainable and affordable energy and the need to protect the Good Friday Agreement. Truss’s first call to a foreign leader was to Zelenskiy. The prime minister, who is the UK’s fourth Conservative prime minister in six years, told him “Ukraine could depend on the UK’s assistance for the long term” and deplored Putin’s attempts to weaponise energy. Accepting an invitation to visit Ukraine soon, the new prime minister said it was “vital Russia’s blackmail did not deter the west from ensuring Putin fails”, according to Downing Street. Honoured to be the object of Truss’s first call, Zelenskiy hailed what he said would be a “profound and productive relationship” with the new leader, with whom he discussed how to increase the pressure on Russia and raise the costs of its invasion. “It is very important that Great Britain retains a leadership role in consolidating the free world and protecting freedom,” he said.
Truss and Biden could meet as soon as the UN general assembly later this month, but issues thrown up by Brexit mean it may not be an entirely smooth welcome. Biden, who has Irish roots, raised with Truss on Tuesday night the need to protect the Good Friday Agreement, and “the importance of reaching a negotiated agreement with the European Union on the Northern Ireland protocol” amid reported concerns about her one-year tenure as foreign secretary which saw post-Brexit tensions in Northern Ireland surface. For its part, Downing Street said the two leaders “agreed on the importance of protecting the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement”. The protracted row over the protocol has ruptured the UK’s relations with the European Union and led to the near collapse of the Stormont assembly, with the Democratic Unionist party refusing to re-enter the executive government until the Brexit arrangements for the country change. Truss is planning an early trip to Dublin, according to a report on Sunday, in what could open a path to talks. A US trade deal that some British officials hoped could offset post-Brexit trade and economic upheaval has yet to materialise under Biden, who warned ahead of his election in 2020 that he would not consent to a deal if Brexit damaged the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Truss leads a country in the grip of a severe economic crisis, amid soaring energy costs and Bank of England forecasts of double-digit inflation and a lengthy recession unless action was taken. With Reuters and Agence France-Presse