Sunak reiterates in a call with his Irish counterpart his desire for a negotiated Northern Ireland protocol

The British 'premier' also conveys to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, his wish that it be negotiated

MADRID, 26 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, has reiterated in a call with his Irish counterpart, Micheal Martin, his desire for a Northern Ireland protocol negotiated in a new telephone round since he took office after taking the reins as leader. of the Conservative Party.

"The leaders agreed on the vital importance of a strong relationship between the United Kingdom and Ireland and expressed their determination to build on that friendship in the coming months," the British government said in a statement.

A few hours after taking office, Sunak held telephone conversations on Tuesday with the president of the United States, Joe Biden, and with the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, with whom he reaffirmed his country's support for Ukraine.

The new prime minister has resumed diplomatic contacts this Wednesday with another call to Martin, with whom, in addition to his support for kyiv, he has discussed the Northern Ireland protocol. Thus, the British 'premier' has insisted that London's preference remains "a negotiated result."

Before the call, Martin has stressed that he hopes that Sunak, like his predecessor, Liz Truss, will resolve the conflict through negotiations with Europe. "I have no doubt that Europe will be flexible in all aspects related to the protocol," she added, according to the 'Belfast Telegraph' newspaper.

For her part, the leader of Sinn Féin, Mary Lou McDonald, has expressed that she hopes that the new government in Westminster can achieve a "radical change" in relations between Ireland and the United Kingdom, as well as between the EU and London.

"This may be an opportunity for a new beginning. The question is, will it be?" he asked, adding that relations between the parties "based on good faith and a genuine desire for real progress" are necessary.

Sunak also had a conversation with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, with whom he discussed "the united response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine", especially about the implementation of sanctions against Moscow as "an example of the value of cooperation between London and the EU".

With regard to the Northern Ireland protocol, Sunak has also conveyed to von der Leyen his desire for it to be a negotiated solution," while noting that he hopes to meet her in person soon, according to a British government statement.

"Prime Minister and President von der Leyen agreed that the UK and the EU have much in common, not least the challenges we face in areas such as the economy and climate change. They resolved to work closely together to tackle to those challenges", he concluded.

The Stormont Assembly has a process ahead of it to recover the institutionality of the Northern Irish autonomous government now with the Republican party Sinn Féin at the helm, after its victory in the elections last May.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refuses to return to the Executive until the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol is resolved in its terms, for which the process has been blocked for months after a vote that did not go ahead to nominate the president and Vice President of Stormont.

Sinn Féin won 27 of the 90 seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly in the elections and is currently the leading political force ahead of the DUP (25) and the Alliance Party (17). The Ulster Unionists Party has nine seats and the Social Democratic and Labor Party has eight seats.