The remarks were made during Antony Blinken's joint press conference in London with his UK counterpart Dominic Raab, who said that they had discussed “a full range of issues” related to “the major areas of common interest”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has touted London as Washington's closest ally, but added that Britain should focus on maintaining “stability” in Northern Ireland, which was recently hit by Brexit-related tensions.
He added that the two countries are currently “connected by ties of friendship, family, history, shared values, and shared sacrifice”.
The top US diplomat also touched upon Afghanistan, saying that the US and the UK “stood shoulder to shoulder for nearly 20 years, sharing a mission and having each other's backs. We'll never forget it”.
In April, President Joe Biden announced plans to fully withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by 11 September, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, despite the 2020 US-Taliban peace deal having set 1 May 2021 as the deadline for the pullout.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, in turn, last month revealed the alliance's plans to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan by 1 May, adding that NATO intends to complete the withdrawal within a few months.
The Good Friday Agreement is a document that was inked in 1998 between the British and Irish governments, as well as most of the political parties in Northern Ireland, on how Northern Ireland should be governed….