Washington:

US President Joe Biden on Friday spoke to new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, congratulating him on the center-left Labour party’s landslide general election victory.

Biden and Starmer “reiterated their continued support for Ukraine as it fights Russia’s unrelenting aggression,” the White House said in a statement.

“They affirmed their shared commitment to protecting the gains of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and working with the leaders of Northern Ireland to create and sustain economic growth and opportunities,” it added.

Starmer will meet Biden and other world leaders in Washington next week at a NATO summit.

The British vote results contrast with Britain’s closest Western allies, with the far-right in France eyeing power and Donald Trump ahead in polls against Biden before the November US presidential election.

Biden and Starmer “reaffirmed the special relationship between our nations and the importance of working together in support of freedom and democracy around the world,” the statement said.

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