WASHINGTON, July 11, (AP): Newly elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer made his maiden appearance on the international stage Wednesday with a strong signal of support for Ukraine and a pat on the back from President Joe Biden as they met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington.
After a full day of meetings - interrupted briefly to watch part of the soccer match in which England triumphed over the Netherlands - Starmer met Biden at the White House, where the leaders extolled the US-British special relationship.
Biden said he sees the UK as the "knot tying the transatlantic alliance together.” He praised Starmer for "seeking closer ties with Europe,” saying it would be good for the entire NATO alliance.
"The special relationship is so important,” replied Starmer, who was elected July 4 in a landslide over the Conservative Party, which had been in power since 2010.
Besides the coveted one-on-one with the US president, Starmer jumped into major meetings with congressional leaders, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy - where the two men embraced - before joining other NATO leaders at a dinner at the White House.
But Starmer also found time to watch a portion of European Championship semifinal. England will face Germany in the finals on Sunday.
"Picked the right moment to pop out from NATO meetings and check the score,” he wrote on the social platform X. "What a game @England and what a winner,” he said in a separate post. "Berlin here we come!”
Starmer also got a taste of the US political turmoil so soon after his own election. Biden's disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump last month has led to growing calls for him not to run in November's election.