WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband discussed the importance of Europe taking a greater role in its security during a meeting in Washington on Wednesday, the State Department said in a statement.
A British official said they also reaffirmed the strength of the relationship between the two allies, including their shared commitment to the NATO security alliance.
Rubio told reporters before the meeting that Ukraine would also be on the agenda. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has ratcheted up appeals to allies for more air defense missiles as Russia escalates ballistic missile strikes.
Miliband had planned to underline that Ukraine’s security is inseparable from European and transatlantic security, and to reiterate the UK’s commitment to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes, his ministry said.
The State Department said the two also reiterated their shared commitment to safe transit in the Strait of Hormuz and to ensuring that Iran never develops or obtains a nuclear weapon.
In a statement issued before the meeting, Miliband underscored the importance of reopening the Gulf waterway to ease Britain’s cost-of-living crisis. He said he would also raise the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The meeting was productive and warm, and the two diplomats agreed to stay in close contact in coming weeks and months, the UK official said.
It was Miliband’s second meeting with Rubio after a brief introduction at the ASEAN meeting in Manila in July.
Miliband, Britain’s governor on the board of the World Bank, is also due to meet the multilateral development bank’s president, Ajay Banga, during his quick visit to Washington, the ministry said.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Muvija M, Ismail Shakil and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Cynthia Osterman)
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