British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and US President Donald Trump held their first bilateral meeting in New York. The talks took place during the high-level gathering of the UN General Assembly.

Burnham said the two leaders had established a good connection and presented the meeting as a basis for strengthening relations between the United Kingdom and the United States. Ukraine, trade and several international-security issues were on the agenda.

The Chagos Archipelago agreement remains a difficult issue. London agreed to transfer sovereignty to Mauritius while retaining long-term use of the Diego Garcia military base, but Trump has criticised the negotiated arrangement and the British legislative process has encountered obstacles.

The cordial tone of the first meeting does not remove policy differences. Concrete results should be evaluated through subsequent decisions and published documents, rather than only through the two leaders' remarks after the talks.

Remarks about the personal relationship remain attributed to the British prime minister. Any joint statement from the British government or the White House should be checked against those comments.

The UN gathering provides the diplomatic setting for such bilateral meetings, but it does not replace later negotiations on files such as Ukraine, trade or security.

Source consulted: Reuters — Burnham and Trump establish a “good connection”