PARIS, July 23 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron and visiting European Commission president-elect Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday congratulated Boris Johnson who was elected the leader of the UK's ruling Conservative party and set to become prime minister.
They said they looked forward to having constructive talks with Johnson on Brexit and international crises.
"I warmly congratulate Boris Johnson, and I hope that we will soon be able to work together," Macron told reporters.
"I'll call him as soon as he becomes officially the Prime Minister... I am very eager to working with him not only on the Europeans topics and Bexit-related negotiations, but also on the international issues on which we are closely coordinated such as the situation in Iran and security," he added at a joint press meeting with Von der Leyen.
For her turn, Von der Leyen congratulated Johnson and said "looking forward to having a good working relationship with him."
"We have a challenging time ahead of us. I think that it's very important to build up a strong and good working relation because we have the duty to deliver something good for people in Europe and in the United Kingdom," she said.
Earlier Tuesday, Johnson, the former British Foreign Secretary, was elected the leader of the Conservative party and set to become British prime minister.
He has pledged to bring Britain out of the European Union by Oct. 31, with or without a deal.
