U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron called British Prime Minister Theresa May on June 9 to voice support as she struggles to form a new government.
The calls showed Washington's and Paris's preference for maintaining the ties they've developed with May, despite the pressure she is getting from opposition groups in Britain to step down after her Conservative party lost its majority in Parliament in snap elections. May has said she will try to form a minority government.
Trump in the call stressed his commitment to the "special relationship" between the United States and Britain and said he looked forward to working with May "on shared goals and interests in the years to come," the White House said.
May was the first foreign leader to visit Trump at the White House and the U.S. State Department called her a "staunch ally."
Macron called to congratulate May, whose party won the most seats in parliament though it lost its majority status, and said he was "pleased that she would continue to be a close partner," a spokesman for May's office said.
"They agreed that the strong friendship between our two countries was important and would endure," the spokesman said.