“Great to talk to President @JoeBiden tonight,” Johnson wrote in a tweet previous Saturday. “I look forward to deepening the longstanding alliance between our two countries as we drive a green and sustainable recovery from COVID-19.”
Johnson congratulated Biden on his inauguration and praised Biden’s decision to re-enter the Paris climate agreement, the COVAX program on expanding access to the vaccine and the World Health Organization, Johnson’s office said in a reading of the call.
“They also discussed the benefits of a potential free agreement between our two countries, and our prime minister reiterated his intention to resolve existing trade issues as soon as possible,” Johnson’s office said in the statement. “Based on the long history of United Kingdom and US cooperation in security and defense, leaders have again committed themselves to the NATO alliance and our common values in promoting human rights and protecting democracy.”
Johnson, a conservative populist and former ally of former President Donald Trump, sought to put distance in his relationship after Biden won the presidential election, with Johnson issuing a statement condemning Trump’s actions in the midst of the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill from United States .
Brexit, backed by Johnson, changed the longstanding “special relationship” between the US and the UK
“When you wanted to do something with Europe, you made the first or maybe second call to London,” Charles Kupchan, who served as senior national affairs officer for the National Security Council in the Obama and Clinton governments, previously told POLITICO.
In 2021, “you are still going to call London, but that call will be further down the line. Britain no longer has a seat at the table, ”due to Brexit, he said.
“Biden is looking to strengthen and renew ties with the EU, and Britain will not be part of that,” said a person familiar with Biden’s thinking prior to POLITICO.
Trump and former UK Prime Minister Theresa May had a difficult relationship. May recently said he “never knew what to expect” from Trump, who was also a frequent critic of the EU bloc before the UK’s definitive departure on January 31.
Trump abruptly canceled a planned trip to London in May 2018. When he visited May for the first time, he was very critical of May in an interview for a tabloid published during the trip. Johnson succeeded in May as Conservative Party leader and prime minister in July 2019.
On Friday, Biden spoke with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The appeals come as Biden tries to begin his quest to “restore dignified leadership at home and respected leadership on the world stage” after Trump’s approach to America First for international relations.