Barack Obama
has said the United States would guard against any "adverse" impacts
from the Brexit vote, but warned that a trade deal with the UK was not
Washington's top priority.
The president
suggested the trading relationship between the UK and the US could become
stronger in future and vowed to make sure it did not end up
"unravelling" as the Brexit process began.
Theresa May
held her first talks with the president since becoming Prime Minister at the
G20 summit in Hangzhou, with trade one of the main items on the agenda.
During the
referendum contest Mr Obama controversially warned that the UK would be at the
"back of the queue" for a trade deal.
Challenged
about his comments at a press conference alongside Mrs May, the US president
said: "It is absolutely true that I believed pre- Brexit vote and continue
to believe post-Brexit vote that the world benefited enormously from the UK
participating in the EU.
"But I
also said at the time that, ultimately, this was a decision for the British
people and the British people made that decision."
Mr Obama said
he had never suggested that the US would "punish" Britain for the
vote.
But he said
that Washington's focus was on the bigger prizes of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership and the troubled US-EU trade deal, while the UK had to make sealing
a deal with Brussels its main priority.
He said the US
would work with Mrs May on the process: "We will consult and co-ordinate
with her as she and her government move forward with the Brexit negotiations to
ensure that we don't see any adverse effects in trading and commercial
relationships between the United States and the United Kingdom."
Mr Obama
added: "We are going to do everything we can to make sure that the
consequences of the decision don't end up unravelling what is a very strong and
robust economic relationship and could become even stronger in the future.
"But,
first things first."
The US
president said the "special relationship" would endure as the UK
pursues an "orderly exit" from the EU.
He praised Mrs
May as a "steadying influence during a time of transition".
Mrs May called
the US a "special partner" for the United Kingdom, a
"long-standing ally and close friend".
Speaking about
their discussions over the UK's decision to leave the EU and its impact on
relations with America, she said: "The UK has always been a strong partner
for the US and that will remain the case."
Mrs May added:
"We are both strong supporters of free trade and today we have discussed
how to take forward consultations to ensure that the UK and US have the
strongest possible trading relationship.
"This
reinforces my belief that as we forge a new global role for the UK we can and
will seize the opportunities that Brexit presents and make a success of
it."
Source: mirror.co.uk
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