President Biden 'maintains unequivocal support for Good Friday Agreement'
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President Biden 'maintains unequivocal support for Good Friday Agreement'

JOE BIDEN has expressed "unequivocal" support for the Good Friday Agreement amid the Northern Ireland Protocol row between the EU and the UK.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki explained that the president, who is of course part-Irish himself, is fully committed to maintaining peace on the island of Ireland at all costs.

"President Biden has been unequivocal about his support for the Good Friday Agreement," she told reporters on Thursday evening.

"It has been the bedrock of peace, stability and prosperity for all the people of Northern Ireland.

"We also welcome cooperation between our British and Irish partners on the Northern Irish protocol and the recent strong statement on these governments' full commitment to the Good Friday Agreement."

It comes after the UK controversially extended grace periods of light-touch regulation on goods crossing the Irish Sea to Northern Ireland following a series of lobbying efforts from British businesses, undermining the Northern Ireland Protocol agreed following Brexit.

Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said that the UK could not be trusted over issues regarding the Protocol, which ensures the border between Ireland and the North remains open and free-flowing.

Prior to election victory in November, President Biden insisted that the Good Friday Agreement cannot become a casualty of Brexit.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, looking to reassure Mr Biden, said that doing so was "fundamental for us, the Anglo-Irish Agreement, the peace agreement, the Good Friday Process, the Belfast Agreement, these agreements are absolutely crucial."