Albanese-Trump meeting looks shaky as PM prepares to depart

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is preparing for the possibility of returning from five nights in the United States without securing a one-on-one meeting with President Donald Trump, a development that would raise alarm about the state of the US-Australia alliance.

As Albanese readies to depart for the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a meeting with Trump has yet to be locked in and is far from guaranteed.

If Albanese and Trump meet in New York, it is likely to be a brief encounter, possibly an informal “pull-aside” conversation on the sidelines of a reception Trump is hosting on Tuesday night (local time).

There is no expectation of a formal meeting at the White House or a joint press conference with both leaders.

Failing to secure a meeting with Trump would be another blow to Albanese on foreign policy, after he was unable to finalise security agreements during visits to Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

Albanese has projected calm about any possible meeting with Trump, pointing out the pair would also have a chance to meet at multilateral summits in Malaysia and South Korea at the end of October.

Foreign affairs experts counter that too much time has already passed without a leaders’ meeting and that it is crucial to ensure the US-Australia relationship remains strong.

There is growing discussion in foreign policy circles about whether Albanese should have moved more quickly to establish a personal relationship with Trump by making efforts to meet when he was a presidential candidate or president-elect.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had a two-hour meeting with Trump in New York in September last year during the US presidential election campaign, has forged close ties with Trump despite coming from different sides of the political spectrum. Trump has hosted Starmer at the White House, and Starmer this week hosted Trump for a state visit to the United Kingdom.

Arthur Sinodinos, who served as Australia’s ambassador to Washington during Trump’s first term, said: “It is important for the two leaders to meet as soon as possible: they are the ultimate decision-makers.

“It would be especially good to have clarity from the president on where he stands on AUKUS given it is being reviewed by the Pentagon.”

Senior Pentagon official Elbridge Colby is conducting a review of the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine pact, and Australian officials have been hoping to hear an explicit endorsement of the deal from Trump.

Michael Fullilove, executive director of the Lowy Institute think tank, said: “Donald Trump was elected president 10 months ago, and he and Mr Albanese have never met each other. This is unprecedented.

“Given that the United States is our primary security partner, and the world’s most powerful country, it’s also risky.”

Fullilove said: “The US-Australia relationship feels thin at the moment. Mr Albanese’s job is to thicken it … There are risks associated with meeting President Trump, but we also have equities to protect.”

Trump and Albanese spoke on the phone for the fourth time earlier this month, raising expectations they would meet during Albanese’s trip to New York. Trump also heightened speculation of a looming meeting when he lashed out at veteran Australian journalist John Lyons this week.

Accusing Lyons of undermining Australian diplomacy by asking questions about his family business dealings, Trump said: “You know, your leader is coming over to see me very soon. I’m going to tell him about you. You set a very bad tone.”

The window for a possible Trump-Albanese meeting narrowed when Trump committed to attend the funeral of assassinated right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk on Sunday, US time.

When asked about a possible meeting with Trump in the US, Albanese said earlier this week that “we will meet when we meet”.

“There’s a range of events occurring as well,” he told the ABC. “And that means that people’s arrangements, you know, will be finalised when, when they’re finalised.”

In a separate interview on Perth radio, Albanese said: “We’ll see each other in New York. [Trump] is hosting a reception on Tuesday night of next week. And as well, we’ll see each other at various forums that are taking place between now and the end of the year.”

Albanese was supposed to meet Trump in June on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada, but plans for a meeting were scrapped when Trump had to return to the US early to deal with the Iran-Israel war.

The latest Resolve Political Monitor conducted for this masthead, found that 52 per cent of Australians believe it is important for Albanese to meet Trump, despite the vast majority of respondents having a negative opinion of the US president.

However, more than a third of voters said they do not believe it is important for Albanese to meet Trump.

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