US President Joe Biden spoke by phone on Tuesday to congratulate new British Prime Minister Liz Truss and both leaders promised to strengthen their relationship as they stand together against Russia, Reuters reports.
"I look forward to deepening the special relationship between our countries and working in close cooperation on global challenges, including continued support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian aggression," Biden said in a tweet.
The two leaders could meet as soon as the U.N. General Assembly later in September. Truss won a leadership race for the governing Conservative Party on Monday and took over from Boris Johnson as prime minister on Tuesday, as Britain faces its most daunting set of challenges in decades.
The prime minister's office said in a statement that Biden and Truss discussed deepening cooperation on NATO and the U.S.-Australia-Britain security agreement established last year as a counter to China. Truss looks forward to "working closely with President Biden as leaders of free democracies to tackle shared challenges, particularly the extreme economic problems unleashed by Putin's war," the statement said.
A White House statement said the two leaders discussed continuing close cooperation on Ukraine, addressing challenges posed by China, preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and "securing sustainable and affordable energy resources."
The so-called special relationship between the United States and Britain has maintained solid continuity in recent years, despite frictions between then-President Donald Trump and then-Prime Minister Theresa May.
