US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in London late last night, marking the start of a week of intensive diplomacy with the new government of the United Kingdom, mainly affecting Ukraine and the Middle East, BNR reported.
Blinken's visit comes ahead of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's visit to Washington on Friday, which will be his second meeting at the White House since his Labor Party won the July election, sweeping the Conservatives after 14 years in power.
Blinken is the most senior American official to visit London since Labour's triumph. He is expected to meet Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy during his talks today. America's top diplomat will discuss Asia, the Middle East and collective efforts to support Ukraine, the State Department said.
The US and Britain cooperate closely on most global issues, and Starmer has made it clear he will maintain the UK's role as one of Ukraine's strongest defenders as it repels the Russian invasion. However, Starmer, who is a former human rights lawyer, has taken a harder line on Israel since taking office. His government has announced a freeze on the supply of some types of weapons, citing the risk that they could be used to violate humanitarian law. The Labor government also abandoned plans by its Conservative predecessors to challenge the International Criminal Court's right to seek the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court and has resisted attempts to attack Netanyahu, arguing that Israel has its own accountability systems. But the United States, Israel's main arms supplier, did not criticize the UK's decision on the weapons, saying Britain had its own assessment and evaluation process.