Keir Starmer tonight spoke to Joe Biden in his first phone call with a world leader.
Downing Street said the new PM and US President “discussed their shared commitment to the Special Relationship”. The two leaders also “reiterated their steadfast commitment to Ukraine ”.
Mr Starmer and Mr Biden will meet next week at a Nato summit being held in Washington DC. On social media, the President congratulated the PM and said he looks forward to “further strengthening the special relationship” with the UK.
He tweeted: “Congratulations to Prime Minister Keir Starmer on becoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. I look forward to our shared work in support of freedom and democracy around the world, and to further strengthening the special relationship between our two countries.”
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Rory Arnold / No 10 Downing Street)
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The Prime Minister spoke to the President of the United States Joe Biden this afternoon. The President congratulated the Prime Minister on his election victory and the Prime Minister thanked him for his kind words. The leaders discussed their shared commitment to the special relationship between the UK and US, and their aligned ambitions for greater economic growth.
“Discussing geopolitical challenges, the leaders reiterated their steadfast commitment to Ukraine and the Prime Minister underscored that the UK’s support for Ukraine was unwavering. The Prime Minister said he looked forward to working side by side across the breadth of the relationship, including the AUKUS partnership and ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific. The leaders reflected on their shared commitment to protecting the gains of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement. The Prime Minister and President looked forward to seeing each other at the NATO Summit in Washington next week.”
Mr Starmer also spoke to Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian President tweeted: “I was pleased to speak with Keir Starmer on the day of his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. I congratulated Sir Keir Starmer on his election victory and wished him success in fulfilling the British people’s expectations of the new government.
“I am grateful to Prime Minister Starmer for reaffirming the UK’s principled and unwavering support for Ukraine. We coordinated positions ahead of the Nato Summit in Washington and other international events, as well as discussed ways to strengthen our partnership, including the preparation of an unprecedented 100-year partnership agreement between Ukraine and the UK.” Other world leaders to congratulate Mr Starmer on his victory include Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, Australian premier Anthony Albanese and French president Emmanuel Macron, who said he was “pleased” with their “first discussion”.