Blinken will travel to the United Kingdom for talks on Ukraine and the Middle East

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The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, will travel to London next week to discuss the Middle East and Ukraine, the State Department announced on Saturday, ahead of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Washington.

Blinken’s visit to London on Monday and Tuesday is the most important by a US official since Starmer’s Labor Party won the July election, ending 14 years of Tory rule.

Blinken will engage in strategic dialogue “reaffirming our special relationship,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

He will discuss both Asia and the Middle East and “our joint efforts to support Ukraine,” Miller explained in a statement.

The White House previously announced Starmer’s visit next Friday, his second visit to Washington since being elected.

The United Kingdom and the United States have cooperated with each other on most global issues, and Joe Biden’s Democrats have historically considered themselves closer to the Labor Party than to the Conservatives.

Starmer, however, has taken a harder line on Israel since taking office, and his government announced a freeze on some arms shipments, citing the threat they could pose to used to violate humanitarian law.

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