LONDON: Reaffirming their support for Ukraine amid its war with Russia, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden discussed the United States’ decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine on Monday, Sunak’s spokesperson said.
Sunak told Biden Britain was a signatory to an international convention that discourages the use of cluster munitions, and it was up to each country to make their own decision about how the weapons are used, the spokesperson said.
“We stand by our obligations under the convention, which include discouraging their use. There is no change from us on that, obviously it is for each country to make a decision,” the spokesperson told reporters.
Besides, the Indo-Pacific region and the broader geopolitical context were among the topics on the agenda for talks when Sunak and Biden met at 10 Downing Street in London.
The US leader arrived in the UK ahead of a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit in Lithuania. Biden, who was received by King Charles III at Windsor Castle later, hailed the UK-US relationship as “rock solid” ahead of his discussions with Sunak.
“PM Sunak and Biden also discussed the broader geopolitical context, including in the Indo-Pacific and with regard to Iran,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.
It marked the first time Biden has visited Downing Street as the US President and his sixth meeting with Sunak since he became Prime Minister in October last tear. “We stand as two of the firmest allies in that alliance and I know we’ll want to do everything we can to strengthen Euro-Atlantic security,” said Sunak.
He said it was great to “carry on our conversation” following a series of meetings between the leaders this year, including during his visit to Washington last month. Sunak, who will be joining Biden at the NATO summit this week, said they would consider how to strengthen cooperation and joint economic security to the benefit of citizens of both countries.