JOE BIDEN has expressed concern over the violence seen in Northern Ireland over the past few days as he joins Boris Johnson and Micheál Martin in calls for calm.
Petrol bombs, stones and fireworks have been hurled and vehicles have been set alight as the riots in Belfast stretch into their second week.
Police, who last night used water cannons and rubber bullets to suppress rioters, described the scenes as the worst violence in the Northern Irish capital for years.
In a statement, the US President's press secretary, Jen Psaki, said on Thursday: "We are concerned by the violence in Northern Ireland, and we join the British, Irish, and Northern Irish leaders in their calls for calm.
"We remain steadfast supporters of a secure and prosperous Northern Ireland in which all communities have a voice and enjoy the gains of the hard-won peace."
BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - APRIL 08: Nationalists attack Police on Springfield Road just up from Peace Wall interface gates which divide the nationalist and loyalist communities
BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - APRIL 08: Nationalists attack police vehicles as they deploy water canons on Springfield RoadBiden, who makes no secret of his Irish heritage, has repeatedly maintained full support for peace on the island of Ireland and for the integrity of the Good Friday Agreement, and this isn't the first time he's weighed in on an issue regarding the Irish border.
Last year, as Britain grappled with the tangle of Brexit negotiations, Biden tweeted a warning to British Prime Minister Johnson.
"We can't allow the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland to become a casualty of Brexit,” Mr Biden said. "Any trade deal between the US and UK must be contingent upon respect for the Agreement and preventing the return of a hard border. Period."
It's also understood that the Taoiseach contacted the President in February after Brussels naively triggered article 16 in an attempt to stop Covid-19 vaccines being delivered from Ireland into the UK, which threatened to establish a hard border on the island.
