LONDON – The first event of Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s four-day trip to Europe will focus on reaffirming the relationship between the United States and United Kingdom following this summer’s Brexit vote.
Carter is set to give a speech Wednesday at Oxford University, where as a Rhodes Scholar he worked toward his doctorate in theoretical physics. The secretary told reporters traveling with him to the United Kingdom that the speech will discuss the future of the security relationship between the U.S. and Great Britain, as well as the campaign against the Islamic State and efforts to counter Russian aggression.
Carter will also hold a press conference with British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, whom he called a “good friend.”
The U.S. secretary had been critical of the vote to leave the European Union and urged the U.K. to remain a member in order to avoid uncertainty, but said he had come to terms with the outcome chosen by the British people.
“That’s not the decision they made, that’s fine. I’m certain that Britain will continue to do what it’s done for so long which is to play an outsized role both physically and morally [on the world stage],” Carter said.
Rather than a change in the relationship with the U.S., Carter said the biggest change will come in the U.K.’s relationship with the European Union and that it’s important to ensure no changes there negatively affect the U.S.
“We need to keep up the solidarity on sanctions,” he said. “We need to make sure that in this vital security area there is complementary and not competition between the E.U. and the U.K. … I don’t think any of them are inevitable, just things that all the leaders will need to make sure continue even after the British exit from the E.U.”
While in London, Carter will also hold meetings with top defense officials from Turkey, Ukraine and Israel.
