Biden, Truss to meet in New York while at U.N. gathering

WASHINGTON — British Prime Minister Liz Truss will meet U.S. President Joe Biden in New York next week for the first time since taking office, shifting plans for a brief session in London during commemorations for the late Queen Elizabeth II.

The leaders will hold a bilateral meeting on Wednesday while both are attending the United Nations General Assembly, according to statements from the White House and Downing Street. Truss’ office previously listed Biden among foreign leaders she planned to meet over the weekend, though these were described as short of full bilateral meetings in deference to the U.K.’S period of national mourning.

While Truss, who took office last week, has sought a meeting with Biden, the White House had been noncommittal.

The U.S. and the U.K. maintain the so-called Special Relationship that has endured through a range of leaders and their personalities. Yet Truss’ circle was irked by Biden’s public insistence that Brexit proceedings avoid enacting new barriers at the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.