Andy Burnham seeks common ground with Trump at the UN and pitches the UK as a major AI player

NEW YORK (AP) — British Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces a double test on the world stage Tuesday when he meets U.S. President Donald Trump for the first time and addresses the United Nations General Assembly. It’s a baptism of fire for the neophyte leader, who has gone from mayor of the northwest England city of Manchester to leader of a G7 country in a matter of weeks.

support for Ukraine and hopes to avoid U.S. criticism of the U.K.’s decision to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank. He also will try to send a message that Britain can play a key role in solving the world’s biggest challenges, from conflict in the Middle East to the dizzying evolution of artificial intelligence.

And he will attempt to turn the page on a decade of Brexit-driven discord with the U.K.’s European neighbors. As he flew to New York for the annual gathering of world leaders, Burnham announced he had authorized limited military support for Saudi Arabia to repel attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. A Royal Air Force plane will refuel Saudi jets engaged in “defensive” action to shoot down Houthi missiles, he said.

Burnham said he would raise with Trump ways to end the on-off war between the U.S. and Iran, which has choked off oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz and sent global fuel prices soaring. Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure are making the problem worse while rendering Burnham’s pledge to ease cost of living pressure for British voters even harder.

“We want to see an end to the conflict as quickly as possible and we stand ready to play our part,” Burnham said. president to provide air-defense missiles to Ukraine ahead of another winter of Russian attacks. Burnham told reporters he would try to find “common ground” with Trump, who has called the center-left U.K.

leader “a nice guy” but “unfortunately” a liberal. The prime minister said he and Trump had “found a connection” in two phone calls since Burnham took office in July. Burnham plans to strike a note of “hope” in his speech to the General Assembly on Tuesday evening, despite warning the world faces “dark clouds of instability.” Burnham said he would focus on AI, arguing it’s possible to be “clear-eyed” about both the benefits and risks of the technology.