U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has called British Defense Minister Michael Fallon to reassure his U.K. counterpart that the “special relationship” between the U.S. and Great Britain will not change because of the vote to leave the European Union.
“Secretary Carter emphasized that the United States and the United Kingdom will always enjoy a special relationship, one reflected in our close defense ties which remain a bedrock of U.S. security and foreign policy,” spokesman Peter Cook said Friday.
Last month, Lt-Gen Ben Hodges, head of the U.S. Army in Europe, told the BBC he was “worried” the EU could unravel just when it needed to stand up to Russia.
“Anything that undermines the effectiveness of the alliance has an impact on us, and so if the EU begins to become unraveled there can’t help but be a knock-on effect for the alliance also,” Hodges said in an interview.
But Pentagon officials insisted the vote would have little effect on the strength of the NATO or Britain’s participation in the alliance, and that the U.S. is confident that the U.K. would remain a “stalwart ally.”
Great Britain is also a major partner in the F-35 joint strike fighter program, and has a commitment to purchase 138 of the next-generation fighter jets. The Pentagon expressed confidence the U.K. vote would have no impact on Britain’s participation.
“This is a bilateral arrangement, of course, with the United Kingdom. Has no bearing on their status within the European Union, and so we would expect their participation in the F-35 program to continue,” Cook said.
In the phone call, which was initiated by Carter, Fallon said United Kingdom would remain active in global security issues, and committed in particular to continue to work within NATO on efforts to accelerate the lasting defeat of the Islamic State, according to the Pentagon.
