Biden and Truss emphasize what connects them in their first personal meeting

US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Liz Truss stressed the close ties between the two countries during their first face-to-face meeting. “You are our closest ally in the world,” Biden said Wednesday at the start of talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. “I can’t think of an issue of global importance where the US and the UK don’t work together.”

Truss added: “We are unbreakable allies.” However, in the meeting, an issue on which the two sides are at loggerheads must also be discussed.

The new British Prime Minister has repeatedly announced that she will unilaterally change or withdraw the deal with the EU on special Brexit terms for Northern Ireland. Biden, who has Irish roots, has repeatedly criticized the move. If this happens, he threatens, the free trade deal with the US that London is longing for will be a long way off.

Before arriving in New York, Truss initially played down hopes for a free trade deal with the U.S., saying no talks were currently underway. He also does not expect these to start in the short to medium term.

British government sources said talks were not expected to start for several years. According to commentators, Truss’s statements were intended to prevent his first meeting with Biden from being seen as a failure after he took office.