Albanese-Trump meeting hopes rise as US leader confirms he'll attend G7 summit
Seattle: Donald Trump has finally confirmed he will attend the Group of Seven summit in Canada despite the escalating conflict in the Middle East and civil unrest at home, all but ensuring that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will finally meet face-to-face with the US president.
Trump's expected attendance on Sunday (Canadian time)at the summit, being held in the town of Kananaskis in Alberta, ends speculation after Israel's strikes put the world on watch.
And while a one-on-one meeting between Albanese and Trump has not yet been locked in, the fact the pair will both attend the summit and participate in group meetings and photos means they are sure to cross paths.
Albanese left Fiji bound ultimately for Canada in the early hours of Saturday morning, after meeting with Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. He flew initially to Seattle, where he will visit Amazon headquarters to unveil a multibillion-dollar investment in Australian data centres and attend a business reception for Australian companies.
Underscoring the sensitivity within the Australian government, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles refused to say if Albanese's highly anticipated first in-person meeting with Trump would go ahead.
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'I'm not about to speculate on that, nor will I go into what are the contacts between our respective governments in relation to all of that,' he said.
Albanese is facing pressure at home over the Trump administration's threats to impose tariffs on Australian exports and its ongoing review of the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact.
Marles gave notably vague answers to repeated questions about the PM's potential meeting with Trump.
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