Obama urges Britain to stay in EU, laments U.S. gun control failure

U.S. President Barack Obama has urged Britain to stay in the European Union (EU), saying that having Britain in the bloc "gives us much greater confidence about the strength of the transatlantic union," BBC reported Thursday.

The UK must stay in the European Union to continue to have influence on the world stage, Obama said in an interview with BBC.

"Having the UK in the European Union gives us much greater confidence about the strength of the transatlantic union," Obama told the British broadcaster ahead of his visit to Kenya.

The EU "made the world safer and more prosperous," Obama was quoted by BBC as saying.

In the interview, Obama lauded Britain as America's "best partner" for its willingness to project power beyond "immediate self-interests to make this a more orderly, safer world," according to BBC.

The U.S. President also praised British Prime Minister David Cameron as an outstanding partner and congratulated the UK government for meeting the NATO's target of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense, BBC said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to hold an "in or out" referendum on whether Britain should withdraw from the EU by 2017.

British lawmakers have been working on a EU Referendum Bill as part of the legal preparations for the proposed referendum.

In the interview, Obama admitted the "most frustrated" area during his presidency was failure of gun control "even in the face of repeated mass killings".

"If you look at the number of Americans killed since 9/11 by terrorism, it's less than 100. If you look at the number that have been killed by gun violence, it's in the tens of thousands," Obama said.

"For us not to be able to resolve that issue has been something that is distressing," he told BBC.

The United States and Britain have enjoyed a so-called "special relationship" after the WWII.

However, political analysts note that the "special relationship" has become increasingly irrelevant, as Britain has been more willing to take a back seat in global affairs following the global financial crisis. Enditem