British Prime Minister Liz Truss said Thursday that French President Emmanuel Macron was a “friend” of the United Kingdom, after kicking the issue this summer.
“He is a friend,” the head of the British government told reporters from Prague, where the first summit of the European political community is being held.
“I work very, very closely with President Macron and the French government. We are talking about how the UK and France can work more closely together to build more nuclear power stations and ensure both countries have energy security in the future,” Ms Truss said.
“The enemy is Vladimir Putin”
“We are both very clear that the enemy is Vladimir Putin, who through his appalling war in Ukraine has threatened freedom and democracy in Europe and has driven up energy prices to which we all owe face today,” she added.
At the end of August, the conservative Liz Truss – then head of diplomacy and candidate for Downing Street – created controversy by refusing to say whether Emmanuel Macron was a “friend” or an “enemy”. “The jury is still deliberating,” she said. The French president reacted by declaring that the United Kingdom was “a friendly, strong and allied nation, whatever its leaders”.
“Deepen cooperation on illegal migration”
Since then, the United Kingdom has tried to calm things down while numerous disputes oppose the two countries, in particular the management of post-Brexit files, such as fishing or Northern Ireland. The two leaders saw each other at the United Nations General Assembly in mid-September. And on Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said he had “no doubt” the UK would work “wonderfully” with France, despite recurring friction between the two countries.
After their meeting on Thursday, Liz Truss and Emmanuel Macron agreed to “deepen cooperation on illegal migration within the limits of international law, tackle criminal groups that traffic in human beings through Europe, which ends in dangerous journeys across the English Channel,” according to a statement from Downing Street.