Obama says UK committed to 'orderly transition' out of EU
President Barack Obama tried to reassure Britons Friday that the special relationship between Washington and London would withstand an impending and likely messy divorce from Europe, as his administration scrambled to assess the fallout.
As stock markets tumbled, Obama offered words of calm and continuity, saying the shocking vote would disrupt neither the storied bond between the U.S. and the U.K. nor American support for the European alliance. In a blitz of phone calls, Obama and top advisers called British and European officials to express support.
Obama spoke with Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel separately to discuss on how Britain will extricate itself from the 27-member union, a process expected to take up to two years. Obama said he came away from his call with Cameron "confident" that Britain is "committed to an orderly transition."
