Johnson, Macron hold first face-to-face talks since coronavirus pandemic started
LONDON -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron held talks Thursday at 10 Downing Street, the first meeting between heads of state in Britain since the coronavirus pandemic started.
The two spent around 45 minutes in private talks, after which they watched a flypast over London by the Royal Air Force (RAF) Red Arrows and its French counterpart team, La Patrouille de France. The two did not face the media after their talks, and instead Downing Street issued a statement about the meeting.
On Brexit negotiations, Johnson welcomed the agreement to intensify talks in July and underlined that Britain does not believe it makes sense for the negotiations to be prolonged into the fall, according to the statement. Britain has formally ruled out the possibility of an extended post-Brexit transition period. Johnson on Monday held video talks with European Union (EU) chiefs, with both sides calling for a new momentum in the search for an agreement before the end of this year when the Brexit transition period ends. Meanwhile, Johnson and Macron welcomed the ongoing cooperation between Britain and France on small boats and illegal migration, said the statement. Hundreds of refugees have been making the perilous journey in small boats across the English Channel, one of the world’s busiest waterways, from mainland Europe. The two leaders also discussed cooperation on the fight against coronavirus. “They agreed that the partnership between our countries will be crucial in overcoming the coronavirus pandemic and ensuring the global recovery is green and sustainable,” added the statement. Macron’s visit to London came on the 80th anniversary of a famous speech made by French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle in a BBC radio broadcast directed at people in Nazi-occupied France.
(Xinhua)