Johnson and Biden set to agree ‘new Atlantic Charter’ ahead of world leaders’ meeting
Boris Johnson and Joe Biden will set out their joint vision for a “sustainable global recovery” from the coronavirus pandemic when they meet ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall.
Holding their first face-to-face talks on Thursday, the leaders are expected to agree what has been billed as a new Atlantic Charter – a reference to the declaration of post-war cooperation between Winston Churchill and President Franklin D Roosevelt in 1941.
According to Downing Street, the meeting will focus on climate change, security, the global trading system and defending democracy, as well as efforts to coordinate how transatlantic travel can resume safely.
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What is the G7?
The ongoing issues in Northern Ireland related to disagreements between the EU and UK over the implementation of the Brexit protocol will also be discussed.
In a statement ahead of the talks the prime minister said: “While Churchill and Roosevelt faced the question of how to help the world recover following a devastating war, today we have to reckon with a very different but no less intimidating challenge – how to build back better from the coronavirus pandemic.
Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt’s Atlantic Charter set out goals for after the war
“The agreements President Biden and I will make today, rooted as they are in our shared values and outlook, will form the foundation of a sustainable global recovery.
“Eighty years ago the US President and British Prime Minister stood together promising a better future. Today we do the same.”
Earlier this week, The Atlantic reported Boris Johnson‘s dislike of the phrase ‘special relationship’, with the magazine suggesting he believed it made the UK seem “needy and weak”.
In the statement ahead of his meeting with President Biden, Mr Johnson omitted any reference to the term, instead describing the UK and US as “the closest of partners and the greatest of allies”.
The Northern Ireland Protocol is also set to be on the agenda
In addition to the commitments in the new Atlantic Charter, the leaders will also identify shared policy priorities, including:
• A UK-US taskforce bringing together both country’s transport departments to work towards the safe resumption of international travel
• Reducing the barriers UK tech firms face when working with US counterparts
• Improving the UK-US economic relationship by finding a resolution to the trade dispute around subsidies, which has seen tariffs imposed in relation Airbus and Boeing
The area where there is the greatest risk of disagreement is thought to be over the situation in Northern Ireland, where a dispute with the EU over the UK government’s implementation of the protocol governing customs checks has resulted in growing tensions and the risk of a trade war.
On Wednesday Mr Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said: “President Biden believes and has said that the Northern Ireland Protocol, as part of the agreement between the UK and the European Union, is critical to ensuring that the spirit, promise and future of the Good Friday Agreement is protected.”
Iranian state television says a ceasefire in its war with Israel has now begun, following a night of missile strikes.
Israel’s ambulance service says at least four people were killed in overnight strikes, with footage from southern Israel showing extensive damage to what appeared to be a residential building.
Sirens sounded in several areas – and members of the public who received an alert were ordered to take shelter – with explosions heard over Tel Aviv.
Israel-Iran latest: Ceasefire deal has been reached
Early on Tuesday morning, US President Donald Trump declared: “The ceasefire is now in effect. Please do not violate it!”
The message on Truth Social followed a series of posts on Monday, in which the president declared that a “complete and total ceasefire” had been agreed upon between the two countries and would begin at approximately 5am UK time.
Footage appeared to show a residential building in southern Israel that was extensively damaged. Pic: AP
In a post on X, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, confirmed that Tehran “has no intention” to continue its response to Israel – provided it “stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people”.
Israeli media reports suggested Benjamin Netanyahu was also on board – provided Iran stops firing missiles towards the country – but there has been no official confirmation.
Donald Trump in the Situation Room at the White House over the weekend. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump had written: “Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World.
“On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both countries, Israel and Iran, on having the stamina, courage, and intelligence to end, what should be called, ‘THE 12 DAY WAR.’
“This is a war that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will!”
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Iran’s nuclear capabilities
In an interview with Sky News’ partner network NBC, the president said it was a “great day” for the US and the Middle East – and a “wonderful day” for the world.
“I’m very happy to have been able to get the job done. A lot of people were dying, and it was only going to get worse. It would have brought the whole Middle East down,” he said.
Mr Trump said he thinks the ceasefire is “unlimited” and is “going to go forever” – adding: “I don’t believe they will ever be shooting at each other again.”
Just hours earlier, people in the Qatari capital Doha had stopped and gazed up at the sky as Iranian missiles flew to the American al Udeid base and interceptors fired.
Officials said there were no casualties, and the US later confirmed it had been warned about the attack by Iran.
Mr Trump was in the Situation Room in the White House as the strikes took place.
He later claimed on his social network that the missiles were a “very weak response”, which the US “expected” and “very effectively countered”.
The Iranian attack came after the US dropped “bunker buster bombs” on three key nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend.
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In a new interview on Fox News, US Vice President JD Vance claimed Iran is no longer able to build nuclear weapons after the American attacks.
“Iran was very close to having a nuclear weapon,” he said. “Now Iran is incapable of building a nuclear weapon with the equipment they have because we destroyed it.”
US
Can Tehran regard Trump as a trusted broker of peace when he floated the idea of regime change in Iran?
These days, peace is a post on social media. On Donald Trump’s Truth Social site, it came in two parts.
Part one read: “CONGRATULATIONS WORLD, IT’S TIME FOR PEACE.”
The Magna Carta it wasn’t, but it was a peace treaty for our times – a US president announcing there would be no retaliation against Iran’s missile attack.
An anxious world watching for US bombers returning to Iranian skies could cool its jets – and the primetime president could feel vindicated, having enjoyed strategic success.
Donald Trump at a meeting in the Situation Room at the White House. Pic: Reuters
Trump has tweaked the politics and military landscape around Iran to suit US interests, without a single American life lost.
He had framed US intervention in Iran as an effort to prevent a “forever” foreign war, not to provoke it, and he is sitting pretty, following ugly predictions he’d be sucked into conflict.
Live updates: Three killed as Iranian missiles strike Israel
Footage appeared to show a residential building in southern Israel that was extensively damaged. Pic: AP
Then, on Truth Social, there was peace “part two”.
A couple of hours after announcing non-retaliation, Trump wrote the sequel: “Ceasefire.”
He posted: “CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE!” – saying a “complete and total” ceasefire had been fully agreed between Israel and Iran.
Quite the day of problem-solving for the self-styled “peacemaker-in-chief”. Quite the day of problems unsolved too – time will tell.
As deadlines loomed, neither Israel nor Iran appeared fully committed to the Trump script, and fresh missiles were fired overnight.
Daytime will test the durability of a ceasefire. There are motivations on both sides to continue a conflict in which both see the other as an existential threat.
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Can Tehran regard Donald Trump as a trusted broker of peace when he floated the idea of regime change in Iran, as pursued by Israel?
Can Israel be convinced to pull back on its military advantage when its instinct will be to reinforce superiority and undermine an Iranian rebuild?
Trump’s influence will be tested, as ever, when he flies to a NATO summit in The Netherlands today. For him, it can be a difficult crowd and one for whom he remains a mystery.
A positive result in the Middle East will help to confound their curiosity, for the better.
It’s the most important day for Donald Trump since the last one.
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