Australia races to lock in new meeting with Trump to avoid second snub
Kananaskis: Australia's ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, is leading a diplomatic push to lock in a meeting for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with President Donald Trump in Europe next week, which would force Albanese to depart Australia again just days after returning from his failed attempt to meet Trump in Canada.
The president is scheduled to be at the NATO summit beginning on June 24 in The Hague, and a meeting would give the prime minister a chance to press Australia's case with the US on the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, defence spending and tariffs.
But the risk that Trump could cancel – to deal with escalating conflict in the Middle East – presents a dilemma for Albanese, who has tried to brush off the blow of Trump cancelling their meeting at the G7 for the same reason.
A day after saying he expected Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles would attend the NATO summit, Albanese changed his mind and said he could go. 'Yes, that's being considered,' he told reporters travelling with him at the G7 summit in Canada.
Sources familiar with Australia's diplomatic approach, who weren't authorised to speak publicly, said Rudd was leading work on a potential meeting and that Albanese was unlikely to go to NATO unless time with Trump was certain.
While Rudd is leading the push to secure the meeting, Albanese has also sought advice from Greg Norman about how to build a connection with Trump. The strategy mirrors the playbook of Malcolm Turnbull, who also turned to the professional golfer to get in touch with Trump in 2016.
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The White House confirmed two weeks ago that Trump would attend the NATO summit, which is expected to focus on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war between Israel and Iran. Yet on Wednesday morning, a US State Department official said that Trump's plan to attend could change because of the 'rapidly changing situation in the Middle East'.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum tweeted on Wednesday morning that she had received a phone call from Trump after her own meeting was cancelled, but Albanese said he had not had a similar phone call.
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