America would "enthusiastically" support a no-deal Brexit, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Monday during a visit to London.
“If that’s the decision of the British government, we will support it enthusiastically, and that’s what I’m trying to convey," Bolton told reporters on the first day of his two-day visit to the British capital, according to the Guardian. "We’re with you, we’re with you."
He said the U.S. would consider striking sector-specific deals ahead of a full-scale trade pact.
“The ultimate end result is a comprehensive trade agreement covering all trading goods and services,” Bolton said. “But to get to that you could do it sector by sector, and you can do it in a modular fashion. In other words, you can carve out some areas where it might be possible to reach a bilateral agreement very quickly, very straightforwardly."
Bolton also took aim at Brussels, saying: “The fashion in the European Union is when the people vote the wrong way from the way the elites want to go, is to make the peasants vote again and again until they get it right. There was a vote — everyone knew what the issues were. It is hard to imagine that anyone in this country did not know what was at stake. The result is the way it was. That’s democracy.”
He added: “Britain’s success in successfully exiting the European Union will be a statement about democratic rule and constitutional government. That’s important for Britain. But it’s important for the United States, too. So we see a successful exit as being very much in our interest, and there’s no quid pro quo on any of these issues."
Bolton also said he couldn't see a threat to the Good Friday Agreement as a result of Brexit, the Guardian wrote.
Bolton was expected to urge Britain to align more closely with America's stance on Iran and on Huawei's involvement in 5G telecoms networks, but he told reporters that Washington understood Brexit was the priority, given Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson had promised to exit the EU by October 31.
"The U.S. government fully understands that in the next 80 days the U.K. government has a singular focus on the Brexit issue, so that we’re not pushing for anything on these broad and complex questions," he told reporters.
The comments came after Johnson joined a meeting with Bolton and senior officials on Monday.
Bolton said Johnson's relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump had “got off to a roaring start,” with the two having shared multiple phone calls since he assumed the British prime ministership. Their most recent conversation was on Monday, when Trump "expressed his appreciation for the United Kingdom’s steadfast partnership in addressing global challenges," according to the White House readout of the call, and said he "looks forward" to meeting Johnson "personally in the near future." Trump and Johnson are both expected to attend the G7 summit in Biarritz, France at the end of the month.
