G7 summit: Biden, Johnson to reaffirm bond but tensions simmer
Al JazeeraOn the eve of the G7 summit, the US leader is expected to warn his UK counterpart over Brexit-related frictions in Northern Ireland. The US leader is concerned that Johnson’s heated disagreements with the bloc over the Brexit deal’s so-called Northern Ireland protocol may undermine a 1998 US-brokered peace deal – the Good Friday Agreement – that ended 30 years of bloodshed in the region. “President Biden has been crystal clear about his rock-solid belief in the Good Friday Agreement as the foundation for peaceful co-existence in Northern Ireland,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on board Air Force One. “Any steps that imperil it or undermine it would not be welcomed by the United States.” Biden seeks to ‘bind allies close’ Biden’s UK visit marks his first trip abroad since becoming president. Al Jazeera’s James Bays, reporting from Cornwall, said Biden’s idea was to “bind his allies close” after Trump’s years in office.