UK blames protests as Trump cancels London trip
London,(MILLAT ONLINE):The British government blamed the threat of mass protests for President Donald Trump’s decision Friday to cancel a visit to London to open the new US embassy, and warned that criticism of the White House risked harming US-UK relations.
Trump said he was abandoning next month’s trip because he did not like the location and cost of the new embassy building.
But Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson suggested the decision was prompted by the opposition to Trump in Britain, and warned such critics “seem determined to put this crucial relationship at risk”.
Prime Minister Theresa May offered Trump a state visit to Britain one year ago, when she became the first foreign leader to visit the White House after his inauguration.
But the date has yet to be set in the face of deep hostility to the president in Britain, prompting speculation it could be turned into a lower profile trip focused around the opening of the new embassy.
Trump tweeted overnight that he would not attend the ceremony, initially scheduled for next month.
“I am not a big fan of the Obama administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for ‘peanuts’, only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars,” he wrote.