Trump meeting on backburner with PM to skip summit
The prime minister will wait a little longer for a second-chance meeting with Donald Trump as the president pushes out his timeline to act on the situation in the Middle East.
Anthony Albanese will not go to The Hague for next week's NATO summit, with his deputy Richard Marles to represent Australia at the event as originally planned.
Mr Albanese was considering making a last-minute dash to the talks, which could have provided an opportunity to meet in person with the US president.
The pair had been scheduled to hold their first face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada earlier this week.
But 24 hours before they were due to meet, Mr Trump revealed he would leave the event early to deal with escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.
The prime minister is keen to meet with Mr Trump to try to negotiate an exemption from US tariffs, advocate for the nation's nuclear submarine deal with the US and UK and discuss defence spending.
Mr Trump is expected to attend the NATO summit, but there is no guarantee he will not pull out at the last second amid volatility in the Middle East.
The US president on Friday said he would decide whether to get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict "within the next two weeks".
Liberal senator James Paterson earlier said the prime minister should attend NATO regardless of whether he meets with Mr Trump.
He believes it would allow Mr Albanese to co-ordinate with allies and help support Ukraine in its war against Russia.
It would also present an opportunity to discuss the situation in Iran with European partners, and discuss defence spending.
"If he meets with President Trump on the sidelines, that would be a bonus," Senator Paterson said.
"But frankly, I think his approach of now waiting seven months to go and see the president and not going to see him in Washington DC, relying on a chance meeting on the sidelines of an international forum, is a very risky strategy."
The prime minister wasn't the only world leader left hanging at the G7.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskiy also had talks scheduled with Mr Trump the day after he left.
Mr Albanese met with senior members of the president's economic team including US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The talks involved trade, tariffs and critical minerals - which Australia has considered using as a bargaining chip in US tariff negotiations.
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Sydney Morning Herald
43 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump buys himself time, and opens up some new options
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Sydney Morning Herald
43 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Will Israel's interceptors outlast Iran's missiles? The answer may shape the war
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The Age
43 minutes ago
- The Age
Will Israel's interceptors outlast Iran's missiles? The answer may shape the war
Jerusalem: Aside from a potentially game-changing US intervention that shapes the fate of Iran's nuclear program, two factors will help decide the length of the Israel-Iran war: Israel's reserve of missile interceptors and Iran's stock of long-range missiles. Since Iran started retaliating against Israel's fire last week, Israel's world-leading air defence system has intercepted most incoming Iranian ballistic missiles, giving the Israeli air force more time to strike Iran without incurring major losses at home. Now, as the war drags on, Israel is firing interceptors faster than it can produce them. That has raised questions within the Israeli security establishment about whether the country will run low on air defence missiles before Iran uses up its ballistic arsenal, according to eight current and former officials. Already, Israel's military has had to conserve its use of interceptors and is giving greater priority to the defence of densely populated areas and strategic infrastructure, according to the officials. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak more freely. 'No one envisaged we would be fighting on so many fronts and defending against so many rounds of ballistic missiles.' Zohar Palti, former senior Mossad officer Interceptors are 'not grains of rice,' said Brigadier General Ran Kochav, who commanded Israel's air defence system until 2021 and still serves in the military reserve. 'The number is finite.' 'If a missile is supposed to hit refineries in Haifa, it's clear that it's more important to intercept that missile than one that will hit the Negev desert,' Kochav said. Conserving Israel's interceptors is 'a challenge', he added. 'We can make it, but it's a challenge.' Asked for comment on the limits of its interceptor arsenal, the Israeli military said in a brief statement that it 'is prepared and ready to handle any scenario and is operating defensively and offensively to remove threats to Israeli civilians'.
