PARIS, Oct 21 — Western leaders expressed hopes for a swift return to normal following the resignation of British Prime Minister Liz Truss, even as Russia offered a scathing assessment of her brief tenure.
Here is a round-up of the main reactions to Truss’ departure:
Biden: ‘Close cooperation’
US President Joe Biden said he hoped to continue Washington’s close collaboration with London.
“I thank Prime Minister Liz Truss for her partnership on a range of issues including holding Russia accountable for its war against Ukraine,” Biden said in a statement.
“We will continue our close cooperation with the UK government as we work together to meet the global challenges our nations face.”
Macron: ‘Stability’
France’s President Emmanuel Macron wished Britain a rapid return to normality.
“I want to say that France, as a nation and people who are friends of the British people, wishes them above all stability,” he said, stressing the context of the war in Ukraine and energy price crisis.
“But personally, I’m always sad to see a colleague leave in this way and what I want to say is that I wish stability can return soon.”
Ireland’s Martin: ‘Stability’
Ireland’s prime minister Micheal Martin expressed some sympathy for Truss, as Britain’s Conservatives announced a swift procedure for choosing her successor.
But he added: “I think stability is very important.”
Ireland wanted to see her successor elected as soon as possible so that “stability will be brought to the situation given the fairly significant geopolitical issues facing Europe” — not least the war in Ukraine, he added.
“But stability is important during these times when a major war is underway on the continent of Europe.”
Moscow: ‘A disgrace’
Moscow gave Truss short shrift, skipping the diplomatic niceties in favour of a scathing personal attack on the departing UK leader.
“Britain has never known such a disgrace as prime minister,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram.
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev meanwhile referred to the stunt by a British tabloid, that set up a video livestream featuring a head of lettuce to see if it would last longer than Truss as prime minister.
“Bye, bye @trussliz, congrats to lettuce,” he wrote on his English-language Twitter account.
The lettuce stunt arose out of an article in The Economist magazine, which noted that Truss had only been in power for a week before her political programme exploded. “That is the shelf-life of a lettuce,” it said. — AFP
