British Prime Minister Andy Burnham confronts a twofold challenge on the international stage Tuesday, as he meets U.S. President Donald Trump for the first time and delivers an address to the United Nations General Assembly.

It is 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.

He will urge Trump to increase U.S. support for Ukraine and hopes to avoid American criticism of the U.K.'s decision to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

He will also 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.

While flying to New York for the annual gathering of world leaders, Burnham announced that he had authorized limited military support for Saudi Arabia, aimed at repelling attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

A Royal Air Force plane, he said, will refuel Saudi jets engaged in “defensive” action to shoot down Houthi missiles.

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 making 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.

He will additionally press the U.S. president to supply Ukraine with air-defense missiles before another winter of Russian assaults.

Burnham informed reporters that he would endeavour to find “common ground” with Trump, who has described the centre-left U.K. leader as “a nice guy” but “unfortunately” a liberal.

The prime minister remarked that he and Trump had “found a connection” over the course of two phone calls since Burnham assumed office in July.

Burnham intends to strike a note of “hope” in his address to the General Assembly on Tuesday evening, even as he warns that the world faces “dark clouds of instability.”

Burnham said he would focus on AI, arguing that it is possible to be “clear-eyed” about both the benefits and risks of the technology.

He will argue that the U.K. is well placed to be an “honest broker” in seeking global agreement to guide its development, because London has good relations with both the U.S. and Europe and “a strong dialogue” with China.

He will also say that Britain is moving on from the tumultuous decade since the U.K.'s 2016 decision to leave the European Union.

He suggested that Brexit was a point at which the country took a wrong turn, driven by misinformation.

The policy of Burnham's Labour Party government is to seek closer relations with the EU without reversing the decision to leave the now 27-nation bloc.

Burnham hinted that he could go further at the next national election, which is due by 2029.

He told reporters that over the previous decade, Britain had endured “the turbulence that comes when outside actors seek to manipulate, distort facts, influence the British democratic process.”

"As we move into the next decade, we need to be clear-eyed about that and be stronger and more on the front foot in challenging it," he said.

“We can be hopeful about where we’re going,” Burnham added.

“We can draw a line under the last decade and say, ‘This next one’s going to be different.’”