'US to continue building strong relations with Britain': Mike Pompeo

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the United States will continue building strong ties with Britain after it exited the European Union on January 31 at 11.00 pm (local time). Pompeo took to Twitter to express his pleasure over the agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU on the much-awaited Brexit deal.

"I am pleased the UK and EU have agreed on a #Brexit deal that honors the will of the British people," Pompeo tweeted.

"We will continue building upon our strong, productive, and prosperous relationship with the UK as they enter this next chapter," he added.

Read: Mike Pompeo To Visit London In 'historic Week' Amid Heightening US-UK Tensions

Ahead of the formal exit from the EU, leaving it a 27-member bloc, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the departure a 'moment of real national renewal and change'. Johnson urged the citizens to make the most of opportunities and ‘unleash the potential'. 

Read: 'Unleash The Potential': Boris Johnson Roars As UK Leaves EU

'Old friends to new beginning'

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the bloc wants an exchange of studies and research as closely as possible. She said that further negotiations should be in the spirit of the fair and predictable economy so that ‘old friends’ build a ‘new beginning’. The European Commission chief said that though the new relationship will never be as good as actual bloc membership, they want to have the best possible relations with the UK.

In a joint statement, European Council chief Charles Michel and Von der Leyen said that they have to loosen some of the threads, over the next few weeks, carefully stitched together between the EU and the UK over five decades. “Whilst the UK will cease to be an EU member, it will remain part of Europe. Our shared geography, history, and ties in so many areas inevitably bind us and make us natural allies,” the statement read.

Read: Brexit: Britain Leaves European Union, Leaps Into The Unknown

Read: Britain's Flag Taken Down At EU Headquarters Hours Before Brexit

(With Agency Inputs)