Kerry urges Britain and EU to maintain strong ties
US Secretary of State John Kerry called on Britain on October 4 to maintain the closest possible links with the European Union as it negotiates to leave the bloc, saying the unity of Europe was paramount for transatlantic relations.
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Speaking in Brussels, Kerry sought to make the case for the European Union despite the rise of anti-EU populist parties and Britain's vote to exit. He said there could be no place for isolationist policies.
"We will not be shy about where our interests lie: We need the strongest possible EU, the strongest possible UK and a highly integrated, collaborative relationship between them," Kerry said in a speech.
"We should never take for granted the good achieved by the unity of Europe," he said, adding that "some people do so too quickly," recalling his youth as the son of a US diplomat growing up in divided Berlin in the 1950s.
Britons' decision to leave the 28-member bloc on June 23dealt a huge blow to the European project of greater unity, and alarmed Washington which feared that the post-war stability it helped to underpin was at risk.
The departure of Washington's closest ally in the bloc comes as the European Union and the United States are negotiating a trade pact that could encompass almost half the world's economy.
