British FM Hunt defends Trump against controversies
The top British diplomat has sought to defend US President Donald Trump against the criticisms surrounding him as London struggles to cement an alliance with Washington at a time of increased uncertainty about Brexit.
In an interview recorded before his Tuesday trip to Washington, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Trump was not the feared figure many thought he would be as a result of his unilateral decisions.
“It’s important... whatever the controversies around Donald Trump, to recognize that actually he has not been the isolationist president that many feared he would,” Hunt told the BBC radio, adding that the United States remained Britain’s closest ally.
The remarks come amid increasing uncertainty about the future of relations between Britain and the European Union. Hunt and other senior figures in the British government have been doubtful whether they could reach a deal with the EU on how Britain will leave the bloc in March next year. Some have even warned that a no-deal Brexit would spark a civil unrest in the country.
Hunt’s remarks about Trump come despite EU’s repeated criticism of US president for protectionist policies. The Europeans are angry at Trump’s imposition of tariffs on certain imports from EU countries while they have also criticized Trump for his unilateral decisions to withdraw the US from major international agreements, including a 2015 Paris climate pact and the nuclear deal with Iran.
Hunt, who became UK foreign minister last month, is to deliver a speech later in the day in Washington where he is expected to call on Europeans to exactly follow the US in policies like piling more pressure on Russia.
“And today the United Kingdom asks its allies to go further by calling on the European Union to ensure its sanctions against Russia are comprehensive, and that we truly stand shoulder to shoulder with the US,” Hunt is set to tell the audience at the US Institute of Peace in Washington.
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