foreign policy
“I do think our relationship is special, and it’s increasingly important,” the United Kingdom's new prime minister said Sunday.
U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss leaves 10 Downing Street to attend Parliament in London, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. | Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Photo
By Olivia Olander
09/25/2022 10:12 AM EDT
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Liz Truss, the United Kingdom’s newly appointed prime minister, called the United States “an incredibly close partner” Sunday, adding the countries’ relationship “is special.”
“I do think our relationship is special, and it’s increasingly important at a time when we’re facing threats from Russia, increased assertiveness from China,” Truss said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Truss said she is “personally a huge fan of the United States of America,” and that she has traveled to the U.S. often.
“I’m determined that we, you know, make the special relationship even more special over the coming years, and we work with our friends and allies around the world,” Truss said.
Truss was specifically asked about Taiwan, which President Joe Biden said last week the U.S. would defend if China invades.
“All of our allies need to make sure Taiwan is able to defend itself,” and there should be a common response, Truss said. The West should “learn the lessons from Ukraine” in countering aggression early, she added.
“We can’t see that situation happen in other parts of the world,” Truss said, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The term “special relationship,” coined by Winston Churchill, is typically used to describe the diplomatic closeness between the United States and the United Kingdom. Truss was responding to a question from CNN host Jake Tapper, who pointed out Truss has previously described the relationship as “special but not exclusive.”
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