‘Not on the agenda': Big Trump admission
When Australia's top leadership will meet Donald Trump in the flesh remains unknown, after Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles admitted a face-to-face with the US President is not scheduled at this week's NATO Summit.
Mr Marles is in the Netherlands for the summit representing Australia as one of the Indo Pacific Four (IP4) – non-NATO countries that work closely with the military alliance in the region.
Nikkei has reported Mr Trump was seeking to meet with IP4 representatives amid growing concerns of a Chinese threat, described by his administration as potentially 'imminent'.
Mr Marles, who is also defence minister, said overnight a meeting was 'not specifically on the agenda', hastily adding that he 'wouldn't want to overstate any of that'. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has admitted a meeting with US President Donald Trump is not yet scheduled at this week's NATO Summit. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia
'I think we are in large rooms with lots of people, and these meetings, gatherings like this, end up being pretty fluid in terms of the bilaterals that you end up organising,' he told reporters from The Hague.
'But look, it is a really significant gathering for us to attend, and the importance of the NATO Summit has grown in terms of the way in which we engage with the world.'
He added that how events in the Indo Pacific and in the North Atlantic 'are influencing each other is growing'.
'What's happening here in Europe, what's happening, specifically in the war in Ukraine is engaging Australia's national interests, and it's a really important gathering for us to attend,' Mr Marles said.
More to come.
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