ANKARA

British Prime Minister Liz Truss and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz discussed “energy challenges” due to the war in Ukraine in a telephone call, according to a Downing Street statement on Wednesday.

"The leaders discussed the energy challenges faced by the UK and its European partners as a result of Putin’s illegal war," it said.

Russian energy company Gazprom announced last week that natural gas shipments from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Europe had been halted indefinitely.

As the pair agreed on "the importance of energy resilience and independence," Truss, who officially took office Tuesday, stressed the importance of "protecting countries made vulnerable by Russia’s economic blackmail," it said.

The British prime minister expressed her willingness to expand defense cooperation with Germany.

Touching on the Northern Ireland Protocol during the conversation, Truss noted that "her priority is protecting peace and stability in Northern Ireland and upholding the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement."

The EU and the UK have been in a dispute for years regarding the application of the Northern Ireland Protocol which established a special trade regime.

"She stressed the importance of finding a solution to the fundamental problems with the text of the Protocol as it stands," the statement noted.