On Thursday, Obama urged London to retain the country’s EU membership to enhance Britain’s global leadership and also stressed the importance of the US-UK "special relationship" and partnership for the success of NATO and other international institutions and initiatives.
"Here he has combated out campaigners argument that this is a chance to restore old relationships, notably the Special Relationship not only by arguing that the UK is more important to the US in Europe but also by powerfully evoking a history of shared sacrifice in war to secure a stable democratic Europe," Lord Mark Malloch-Brown said.
Obama's remarks regarding the United Kingdom's possible exit of the European Union were made ahead of his three-day official visit to the country, where he is expected to have lunch with Queen Elizabeth II and hold a meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron.
UK nationals are set to vote on June 23 in a referendum on the country's EU membership, after Cameron and the leaders of the 27 other EU member states reached a deal in February to grant the United Kingdom a special status within the bloc.
