Burnham set to meet Trump for the first time in New York

Burnham set to meet Trump for the first time in New York JILL LAWLESS LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PUBLISHED 23 MINUTES AGO Open this photo in gallery: Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham leaves 10 Downing Street in London on Sept. 9. KIN CHEUNG/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. Andy Burnham once said he would refuse to meet Donald Trump. Now Britain’s prime minister is about to hold his first meeting with the U.S. president, with Ukraine and the soaring cost of conflict in the Middle East at the top of his agenda. U.S. officials say the two leaders will hold talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Burnham is set to address the annual gathering of world leaders on Tuesday, setting out his vision of Britain’s place in an increasingly fractured world order. Burnham’s only other foreign trip since taking office in July was to Kyiv, and he has said he will urge Trump to send interceptor missiles to bolster Ukraine’s air defences ahead of another winter of war. The British government also wants to discuss ways to restore free movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, largely blocked since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran in February. The closure of the key route has sent oil prices spiking, complicating Burnham’s efforts to jump-start Britain’s sluggish economy and ease the cost of living. World leaders gather for annual UN meeting to discuss wars, AI and climate shocks Like many Labour Party politicians, Burnham was strongly critical of Trump in the past. In 2017, Burnham, as the mayor of Greater Manchester, said the president wouldn’t be welcome in the city. Two years later he said he would refuse to meet Trump if he visited. After becoming prime minister in July, Burnham said he always tries to find “common ground” with other politicians. Burnham and Trump have spoken twice since Burnham replaced Keir Starmer at the helm of the centre-left governing party. Trump has called Burnham “a nice guy,” but has also recently needled U.K. officials by expressing support for Irish unification and musing about the future of the Falkland Islands that are claimed by both Britain and Argentina. Labour Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said Burnham would be “pragmatic.” “We won’t agree with the U.S. administration on everything,” Phillipson told Times Radio on…