US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to London next week to discuss the Middle East and Ukraine, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will head to Washington next Friday.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that Blinken will participate in a strategic dialogue reaffirming the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. During the talks, the Secretary of State will address issues concerning Asia, as well as the Middle East and collective efforts to support Ukraine.
Blinken’s visit to London on Monday and Tuesday will mark the highest-level visit by an American official since Starmer’s Labour Party won the elections in July. Prime Minister Starmer will pay a visit to Washington next Friday for the second time since taking office as Prime Minister. He previously met with President Joe Biden at the White House on July 10 during the NATO summit.
Historically, the Democratic Party has been considered a closer ally to the Labour Party than to the Conservative Party, leading to significant co-operation on many issues. However, recently the nature of their agreement has shifted.
Since taking office, Starmer has taken a harder line on Israel, leading to the suspension of 30 arms export licences to Israel following scrutiny, citing the risk that the Israel Defence Forces could use them to breach humanitarian law. As a result, the US Senate and House of Representatives are under pressure from activists to follow the UK’s example.
Apart from, the Labour government abandoned plans to contest the International Criminal Court’s right to seek the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The US, not being a member of the International Criminal Court, opposes attempts to target Netanyahu, stating that Israel has its own accountability systems.
