Biden hails 'rock-solid' US-UK relationship at Downing Street talks with Sunak
ITV News Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen reports on Joe Biden's flying visit to the UK
Joe Biden hailed the "rock-solid" relationship between the US and the UK as he met Rishi Sunak in Downing Street.
The US president praised the closeness of ties between the two countries as he and the prime minister held talks in the garden of No 10. Later on in the day, Mr Biden was greeted by King Charles III at Windsor Caste.
Mr Biden's short layover in London comes ahead of a crunch Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
During his visit, he told Mr Sunak he "couldn't be meeting with a closer friend and a greater ally".
Mr Sunak said the pair would continue talks on how the UK and US can "strengthen our co-operation, our joint economic security, to the benefit of our citizens".
Ahead of the Nato gathering, the prime minister said the US and UK "stand as two of the firmest allies in that alliance".
Mr Biden ignored questions from reporters, as the pair reflected on the relationship between the two countries only weeks after Mr Sunak travelled to Washington.
The meeting, which lasted around 40 minutes, was also attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly as well as several senior national security advisers.
Making his first visit to No 10 as president, Mr Biden appeared relaxed as he sat side by side with the prime minister, who laughed when the president quipped about how frequently the two leaders meet.
The King and Joe Biden at Windsor Castle
On Monday, Downing Street said Mr Sunak discussed the United States' controversial decision to send cluster munitions to Kyiv.
The UK is signed up to an international convention to ban the weapons, placing Mr Sunak under a duty to speak out against their use, but the US is not signed up to that agreement.
The prime minister's official spokesman said providing the weapons "was a difficult choice for the US" that had been "forced on them by Russia's war of aggression".
The two leaders "discussed the commitments that UK has under that convention, both not to produce or use cluster munitions and to discourage their use".
The Nato summit is also likely to see wrangling between allies over Ukraine's path to membership of the alliance.
Though all attendees at the summit in Vilnius on Tuesday agree that Ukraine cannot join during the war - a move which would pull the wider West into direct conflict with Russia - the US is seen as most hesitant over its membership.
Britain, on the other hand, has indicated support for a fast-track approach for Ukraine.
After Monday's meeting with Mr Biden, the prime minister's spokesman played down reports that the UK and US were split over the extent of commitments to offer Ukraine on Nato membership.
He said: "I have seen that reporting but I don't believe that's accurate.
"Certainly, we do want to support Ukraine on the pathway to joining the alliance, the exact mechanisms for that are for discussion with Nato allies."
Though it is not a full-blown state visit, Mr Biden was treated to a display of pageantry at Windsor Castle.
The King warmly greeted the American leader in Windsor Castle's quadrangle, shaking hands with Mr Biden as a guard of honour stood nearby.
Charles and the president last met on the eve of the Queen's funeral last September, when a reception was held for dignitaries ahead of the national event.
On Monday, guardsmen gave a royal salute and the American national anthem was played by the Band of the Welsh Guards, when the visiting head of state arrived.
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