Tillerson’s ‘special’ attention for UK
THE United States needs to pay attention to its treasured relationship with Britain, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said yesterday, just days after President Donald Trump cancelled a trip to London citing anger at the sale of an embassy.
Mr Trump’s cancellation of his trip has raised questions in Britain over the links between Washington and its closest traditional ally in Europe – widely called the “special relationship”.
More than a year into his presidency, Mr Trump has yet to visit London, and many British voters have promised to protest against a man they see as crude, volatile and opposed to their values on a range of issues.
Mr Tillerson, a former Exxon Mobil CEO, met British Prime Minister Theresa May in her Downing Street residence and then held talks with Foreign Secretary
Boris Johnson.
“We treasure this relationship, and I treasure Boris’s relationship with me personally, and the work that we do together on these many issues,” Mr Tillerson told reporters.
“Sometimes we forget about the importance of our own relationship,” he said. “We need to pay attention to that relationship and the importance of this relationship on a bilateral basis as well.”
A pillar of Britain’s foreign policy for a century, the special relationship with Washington has taken on added importance as Britain prepares to leave the European Union in 2019.