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Sir Keir Starmer, UK prime minister, will meet US President Joe Biden in the White House next week, against the backdrop of a recent divergence between the two allies on their approach to the Israel-Hamas war.
The Gaza conflict will be on the agenda for the meeting, announced by the White House on Friday, which will see Starmer hold his second meeting with Biden since becoming prime minister on July 5.
Starmer this week announced Britain was suspending some arms export licences to Israel after a British government review found possible breaches of international humanitarian law by Israel.
He has also restored funding to the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees and has changed the UK’s stance on arrest warrants against Israeli leaders.
Although the Biden administration has said it respects Britain’s decision on arms exports and the UK legal framework that underpinned it, the move represented an unusual variance in policy between the allies.
Starmer, who has been engaged in an intense programme of international contact building since becoming prime minister, previously met Biden in July at the White House on the margins of a Nato summit.
The White House said Biden and Starmer would next Friday hold “an in-depth discussion on a range of global issues of mutual interest”.
They would include talks on “securing a hostage release and ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza”, along with “continuing robust support to Ukraine”.
The White House added that the agenda would also include “protecting international shipping in the Red Sea from Iranian-backed Houthi threats, and advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific”.
“They will also discuss opportunities to strengthen US-UK co-operation to secure supply chains and increase climate resilience. President Biden will underscore the importance of continuing to strengthen the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.”
Meanwhile Starmer, who last week visited Berlin and Paris, will on Saturday travel to Dublin for talks with Irish taoiseach Simon Harris as part of a wider attempt to reset the UK’s relations with the EU.
Starmer will hold talks with business leaders and attend an Ireland vs England football match.
