Liz Truss spoke to US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday evening during her first phone calls as prime minister with foreign leaders.
Mr Biden began the calls by congratulating Ms Truss on her appointment.
The prime minister said she looks forward to working closely with Mr Biden to tackle shared challenges, particularly the war in Ukraine.
The leaders agreed that the partnership between the UK and the US “has been crucial for defending and advancing freedom and democracy in the world”.
They agreed to build the two countries' defence alliance through Nato and Aukus, and to tackle the risks from autocracies, particularly ensuring Russian President Vladimir Putin fails in Ukraine.
The leaders also discussed the importance of protecting the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and expressed their wish to meet each other soon.
Liz Truss's political career - in pictures
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New Conservative Party leader and Britain's Prime Minister-elect Liz Truss delivers a speech after being announced the winner of the Tory Party leadership contest in central London on September 5, 2022. Ms Truss is the UK's third female prime minister following Theresa May and Margaret Thatcher. AFP -
Liz Truss during a hustings event in Darlington in August 2022. Ms Truss and Rishi Sunak are awaiting the results of a poll of Conservative Party members deciding which of them has been selected as the new party leader, and next prime minister. PA -
Liz Truss playing pool during a visit to the Onside Future Youth Zone in London in August 2022. PA -
Boris Johnson and Ms Truss arriving for an extraordinary summit at Nato headquarters in Brussels, in March 2022. AFP -
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ms Truss arrive for talks in Moscow in February 2022. AP -
Ms Truss in Red Square during a visit to Moscow in February 2022. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Ms Truss meeting European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic (not seen) for talks in central London on the Northern Ireland Protocol on 11th February 2022. PA -
Ms Truss with Marise Payne, the Australian minister of foreign affairs, at Government House in Sydney, Australia, in January 2022. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Liz Truss hosts Vice President of the European Commission Maros Sefcovic at Chevening House in January 2022 to discuss the Northern Ireland protocol. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Ms Truss visits British troops in Estonia as they operate alongside other Nato troops in Tapa in November 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Liz Truss walks through the old town in Tallinn, Estonia, in November 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Ms Truss greeting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, in November 2021. PA -
Ms Truss at the Red Fort in New Delhi during a trip to India in October 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
The British foreign secretary on the Plaza de la Constitucion in Mexico City, during a trip to Mexico in September 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Queen Elizabeth II greeting Ms Truss at a reception for international business and investment leaders at Windsor Castle in October 2021. PA -
Liz Truss with Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, in New York, in September 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Ms Truss on a morning jog over Brooklyn Bridge in New York in September 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Former Chancellor Philip Hammond, centre, holding his red ministerial box outside 11, Downing Street, flanked by Treasury colleagues Ms Truss and Mel Stride in October 2018. PA -
Ms Truss, then secretary of state for justice, being escorted around HMP Brixton by prison governor David Bamford in November 2016. PA -
Ms Truss as she became the first woman ever to hold the role of Lord Chancellor, arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice before being installed in July 2016. PA -
In April 2016, the former environment secretary Liz Truss listening to former chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne (not seen) during his speech at the National Composites Centre in Bristol. PA -
When she was environment minister, Ms Truss visited the bridge over the River Wharfe in Tadcaster, which collapsed after heavy flooding in December 2015. Getty Images -
Addressing the Conservative party conference in Birmingham in 2014 when she was secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs. Getty Images -
Mr Truss on the Sawnnington Farm to Fork stand at the Norfolk Food Festival at the Houses Of Parliament in October 2011. PA -
Conservative Parliamentary candidate for South-West Norfolk Elizabeth Truss, while canvassing in the village of West Walton during the 2010 General Election campaign. PA -
The former Conservative Shadow Home Secretary, Dominic Grieve, centre, speaking at the launch Reform's Lawful Society report on the nature of crime and the incentives in the criminal justice system while Ms Truss looks on, in September 2008. PA -
Former Conservative Leader William Hague meeting conservative candidate for Calder valley Ms Truss, during the General Election Campaign for 2005. PA
Ms Truss is expected to travel to the US later this month for the UN General Assembly, where she will be hoping for her first face-to-face meeting with the president.
During Ms Truss's call with Mr Zelenskyy, she pledged to visit Ukraine soon.
Ms Truss held the call with Mr Zelenskyy within hours of becoming prime minister.
In a statement, the Ukrainian president said he had thanked the British people for their support.
“I became the first foreign leader to have a conversation with the newly elected [British] PM @trussliz,” he tweeted.
“Invited her to [Ukraine]. Thanked [British] people for the major defence and economic aid for [Ukraine]. It’s important that [Britain] is ready to further strengthen it. Attention was paid to security guarantees.
“We discussed the participation of [Britain] in the recovery of [Ukraine]. Co-ordinated further pressure on the RF [Russian Federation]. The goal is to stop the aggression and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“It’s important to designate the RF a terrorist state. We’ll continue active interaction in all formats.”
A Downing Street spokeswoman said that Ms Truss had told the Ukrainian president that his country could count on the UK’s assistance “for the long term”.
“In her first call with a counterpart since becoming prime minister, she reiterated to the Ukrainian leader that he had her full backing and Ukraine could depend on the UK’s assistance for the long term,” she said.
“President Zelenskyy thanked the prime minister for the UK’s staunch support and congratulated her on her appointment.
“The leaders discussed the need to strengthen global security and the measures necessary to cut off the funds fuelling Mr Putin’s war machine.
“The leaders deplored Mr Putin’s attempts to weaponise energy, and the prime minister said it was vital Russia’s blackmail did not deter the West from ensuring Putin fails.
“She also underscored the importance of ensuring the UK and our allies continue to build energy independence.”
The Ukraine war latest – in pictures
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Russian Malka artillery systems are fired from an undisclosed location in Ukraine. AP -
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits a training ground for Ukrainian soldiers in Putlos near Oldenburg, Germany. AFP -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) hands The Order of Liberty medal to Boris Johnson in Kyiv. The UK Prime Minister visited on Ukraine’s Independence Day. AFP -
Destruction in Chaplyne, Dnipropetrovsk region. Reuters -
The UN Security Council votes on whether to allow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address the meeting via video link on threats to international peace and security. AP -
A pro-Ukrainian statue in Prague, Czech Republic. AP -
Krystyna Kopaczewska takes part in a Ukrainian Independence Day rally outside Downing Street in London. Reuters -
Firefighters work to extinguish flames at a shopping centre Galaktika after Russian shelling in Donetsk. Reuters -
Ukrainian servicemen fire at Russian positions in Kharkiv region. AP -
Destroyed Russian tanks and military equipment on Khreshchatyk, a street in central Kyiv, have been turned into an outdoor military museum. AFP
The spokeswoman added that the prime minister was “delighted” to accept an invitation to visit Ukraine.
“She praised the Ukrainians’ fight for sovereignty and self-determination and said it was essential Ukraine succeeds and Russia fails,” she said.
“The prime minister said she looked forward to working with the president in the coming weeks and months and was delighted to accept an invitation to visit President Zelenskyy in Ukraine soon.”
