Secretary Antony J. Blinken And United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer Before Their Meeting

PRIME MINISTER STARMER:  Secretary of State, I warmly welcome you once again.  It is fantastic that you’re here and we’re able to have this meeting.  This is the closest relationship, the special relationship, so important historically to our two countries, and so important going forward.  So I’m really looking forward to having an opportunity to talk to you about the pressing issues.  Of course, we’re praying for the Middle East, where the next few weeks and months are crucial, in my view, and very much looking forward to seeing the President on Friday to continue those discussions.

So you’re very welcome.  Thank you for making the time, and it’s really a great pleasure and privilege to be able to welcome you as prime minister to this meeting here today.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Prime Minister, thank you so much, and I’m really grateful to you for taking the time.  I know how much President Biden looks forward to seeing you on Friday.  I’m glad for this opportunity to talk before you head to Washington, and I can simply say what I said earlier today, which is that for the United States, you remain not only the most special relationship but really the most essential relationship.  We are together dealing with a greater complexity, a greater multiplicity, a greater interconnectedness of problems than ever before, but the fact that we’re doing it side by side makes all the difference and is a tremendous sense of confidence for us.

And I just want to also express to you, Prime Minister, and to my friend the foreign secretary our gratitude for the fact that you’ve hit the ground at a full sprint.  And that we really welcome as well because so much of this, as you’ve described, is urgent, and we’re tackling it together.  So thank you for the time today.

PRIME MINISTER STARMER:  Thank you very much.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thanks.