Blinken is avoiding Ukraine and the Middle East at a divided UN Security Council WSOC TV [Video]

UNITED NATIONS — (AP) — Antony Blinken pointed to the promise and pitfalls of artificial intelligence in a likely final trip to the United Nations as secretary of state, capping his engagements with the world body after a tumultuous four years that saw war return to Europe and multiple crises in the Middle East.

With the U.N. Security Council more divided than ever, Blinken is leading two meetings of the U.N.’s most powerful body on Thursday. But neither will focus on Russia’s war with Ukraine or the Middle East, where the U.S. has been frequently at odds with permanent members China and Russia and almost always in the minority when it comes to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

Instead, in an apparent bid to produce a modicum of consensus, Blinken is leading Security Council sessions on AI and the conflict in Sudan, which aid agencies say has sparked a dire humanitarian crisis that has not received enough …