UNITED NATIONS — As leaders gathered in New York for the U.N. General Assembly, several countries used the meetings to build cooperation beyond Washington’s orbit. But talks on Ukraine, artificial intelligence and the Middle East underscored how difficult it remains to act without the United States. The push comes as some U.S. allies question whether they can count on President Donald Trump’s administration and explore closer ties among so-called middle powers. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, both critics of Trump, said they would not meet with him during the gathering. Still, Allison Minor, a former U.S. official who worked on Gulf policy and attended events with European and Gulf leaders, said the effort to organize global affairs without Washington remains a work in progress. Countries, she said, are accustomed to relying on the United States to convene partners and set direction. “The reality is the U.S. is still the central player,” Minor said. On Ukraine, European governments and partners pointed to several steps toward strengthening support for Kyiv. Finland signed a drone agreement with Ukraine, France announced a contract to provide radars and interceptors, and Canada moved closer to Nordic and Baltic countries. Germany’s foreign minister traveled to Ottawa for talks that included trade and submarines. Those initiatives unfolded alongside uncertainty over U.S. policy. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Trump had given final approval for Ukraine to license production of Patriot air-defense systems, a claim the White House had not confirmed. The next day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States had invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 meeting planned for Miami. The invitation drew criticism from some European officials, while Germany’s foreign minister welcomed it. Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Țoiu called for allies to coordinate sanctions and diplomacy. At a separate event, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski argued that Europe and the United States should preserve their alliance even amid strains, comparing it to a marriage that partners should continue to maintain. Efforts to coordinate on artificial intelligence also ran into limits. Finland and Norway helped organize a declaration calling for international oversight of AI, backed by nearly two dozen countries, including Australia, Canada, Estonia and the United Arab Emirates. The United States and China did not sign. France also convened a U.N. Security Council discussion on the technology. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told the panel that common international standards for testing AI models were needed, warning that poorly managed AI could pose a risk to humanity. But the declaration lacked support from some major technology powers and companies. France and the United Kingdom, both prominent European tech players, also stayed out of the pledge. No central initiative emerged from the discussions. Countries affected by the war in Iran likewise looked primarily to Washington, even as some sought to broaden their security ties. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey met in Riyadh to discuss developing their defense partnership, while France and the United Kingdom announced support for Saudi security and energy infrastructure. At a closed-door meeting with Gulf and other Arab and Muslim leaders, Trump offered reassurance but made no commitments, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The meeting lasted about 15 minutes, the person said. An Arab diplomat said countries confronting a war cannot simply shift their security relationships in the way leaders in peacetime might. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his reliance on Washington explicit, describing Trump as Israel’s strongest partner in his address to the General Assembly. The gathering also competed for attention with a meeting in Washington between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi traveled directly to the U.S. capital rather than addressing the General Assembly. The summit produced an extension of a two-month trade truce but no new agreements on AI, Iran or Ukraine; the leaders said they would meet again at upcoming APEC and G20 gatherings. The week’s meetings produced new partnerships and proposals, but also highlighted their constraints: allies remain divided on how to respond to Washington, and many still see U.S. involvement as essential to major diplomatic and security efforts.