British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he raised the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands during his first in-person meeting with US President Donald Trump, held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. "We mentioned the Falklands, and you were kind enough to listen to us on those matters," Burnham told reporters after the talks. Trump offered no public response on the archipelago.

The exchange came eleven days after Trump, speaking in Dublin, declined to say whether the United States would come to Britain's aid in the event of a new conflict over the islands, and told the BBC that he was reviewing all of his positions. His comments in Dublin — which also included favourable remarks about Irish unity — were reported to have caused discomfort in London. The Falklands, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, have been administered by the United Kingdom since the early 19th century. Argentina, which calls the islands the Malvinas, contests sovereignty. In a 2013 referendum, 99.8% of islanders voted to maintain their status as a British territory. Washington has never taken a formal position on the sovereignty dispute, though it recognised British administration in practice and backed Britain's military campaign to retake the islands in 1982.

Despite the diplomatic sensitivity, the tone of Tuesday's meeting was notably warm. Trump praised Burnham, saying he believed he would be "a great prime minister" with "a lot of things going" for him, and described the United Kingdom as "a really special country," adding that Washington was "with you all the way." Burnham, who took office in July, said the relationship "matters enormously" and that the two had established "a good connection." The leaders had previously spoken twice by telephone. In a lighter moment, Burnham gently corrected Trump's description of Manchester — the northern English city where Burnham served as mayor before entering Downing Street — as a "town," calling it "a great city," before adding with a smile: "I don't hold it against you as a former mayor."

The wider agenda covered Ukraine, the Middle East, trade, energy, immigration, and the British engineering company Rolls-Royce. Burnham said he was seeking US intercept missiles to strengthen Ukrainian air defences ahead of winter, and discussed ways to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical Persian Gulf waterway largely blocked since war broke out between the US and Iran in February, sending global oil prices sharply higher. "We remain ready to play our part in the Middle East, helping you stop the conflict and open the strait," Burnham said, also affirming that Britain stood with the US in ensuring Iran never becomes a nuclear power.