Johnson calls world leaders after return from second holiday
Boris Johnson has held a call with US President Joe Biden and other world leaders after returning from his second holiday of the summer.
Theprimeministerdiscussed the Iran nuclear deal and the Russian-occupied nuclear complexinukrainewiththeus president, France's Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz yesterday.
Downing Street said he had returned to the UK and is expected to fully resume work in No 10 again from today. He had been holidaying with wife Carrie Johnson in Greece after their honeymoon to Slovenia.
The leaders discussed cooperation on international security, including the risk of the fighting around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant occupied by Vladimir Putin's troops.
They welcomed the Russian president's agreement to allow the UN'S International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit
the site amid concerns over its safety.
"They stressed the importance of ensuring the safety andsecurityofnuclearinstallations and welcomed recent discussions on enabling an IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia facility," a No 10 statement said.
The White House account of the call said the leaders discussed "ongoing negotiations" overiran'snuclearprogramme, astheusconsiderstehran'slatest proposal on the Iran nuclear deal.
Itsstatementsaidthemendiscussed the "need to strengthen supportforpartnersinthemiddleeastregion,andjointefforts to deter and constrain Iran's destabilising regional activities".
The four countries on the call were all signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that crumbled when Donald Trump's administration withdrew from the agreement in 2018.
No 10 added: "The Prime Minister welcomed the opportunity to speak, and the leaders agreed their teams would continue working closely together in the coming weeks."
Mr Johnson had faced criticism for being on holiday as the UK'S economic picture worsened, with inflation soaring and energy prices set to shoot up again.
Asda chairman and Tory peer Lord Rose criticised a "horrifying" absence of fresh support, and said: "The captain of the ship is on shore leave – nobody is in charge at the moment."