British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump for the first time next week in New York, The Times reported on Tuesday, citing a source.
The meeting is expected to take place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, according to the report.
Reuters, however, was not immediately able to independently confirm the information.
According to British radio station LBC, Downing Street had previously said that a face-to-face meeting was not certain due to difficulties in the two leaders’ schedules, but it now appears that it will go ahead.
The two leaders have spoken twice since Burnham became prime minister in June — the first time just hours after he entered Downing Street.
During another phone call last week, the two agreed on the need to “continue working towards a ceasefire that would prevent further loss of life” in Ukraine.
The two men also discussed the Middle East, with the prime minister expressing the United Kingdom’s commitment to working for peace and security in the region, “highlighting the importance of the two-state solution, the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.
The leaders are likely to discuss the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran again when they meet in person.
The development comes as the U.S. president threatened this week that the “countries of the world” that did not help in his war with Iran should “reimburse” the United States.
President Trump has strongly criticised other countries, which he claims have not provided sufficient support to the United States in the war with Iran.
The conflict became a point of friction between Trump and former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, although Trump has not yet directly attacked Burnham over his position on the conflict.
He has, in fact, previously said that he has a “good relationship” with Burnham. However, he has criticised the British prime minister over his stance on issues such as immigration and North Sea drilling.
Asked about Burnham last month, Trump replied: “I think we’re going to have a very good relationship. We’ll see. I’m not going to tell him how to run his country…”
In a conversation with Gary Lineker in July, Burnham, for his part, said that his relationship with Trump would be based on “respect for the office, the UK-U.S. relationship.”
Ask me anything
Explore related questions