Anthony Albanese’s highly-anticipated first meeting with Donald Trump has been abruptly cancelled, leaving the Prime Minister no opportunity to speak face-to-face with the US President after missing out on the G7 leaders’ dinner.
The White House has announced that President Trump will depart the G7 Summit in Canada early due to rising tensions in the Middle East.
Mr Albanese’s bilateral meeting was scheduled to take place on Tuesday local time, but President Trump will leave on Monday night.
While the US President will still attend the G7 Heads of State dinner, Sky News revealed Mr Albanese will be at a separate function.
Mr Albanese is not on the guest list for the Heads of State dinner, and there will be no opportunity for the two leaders to meet.
“Given what is occurring in the Middle East, this (President Trump’s departure) is understandable,” a spokesperson for Mr Albanese told Sky News.
“As the Prime Minster said a short time ago, we are very concerned about the events in the Middle East and continue to urge all parties to prioritise dialogue and diplomacy.”
President Trump will be having dinner with G7 leaders in Kananaskis and Mr Albanese will have dinner with outreach partners in Calgary.
Sky News understands the Albanese government only learnt that President Trump would leave the G7 when it was announced publicly by the White House.
“Oh, I look forward to the meeting and I look forward to it taking place,” Mr Albanese said just ten minutes before the meeting was cancelled.
The next prospect for a Trump-Albanese meeting will be in September, according to sources.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt announced in a social media post that President Trump would leave Canada on Monday night local time.
“President Trump had a great day at the G7, even signing a major trade deal with the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Keir Starmer,” she said.
“Much was accomplished, but because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with the heads of state.”
According to sources in the Albanese government, there was a fear that the Middle East crisis could prompt President Trump to leave before the bilateral meeting.
Australian Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd had worked for months to get the meeting organised.
Other world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, also had meetings with President Trump cancelled.
The development comes as a diplomatic blow for Mr Albanese, who had been urged to arrange the meeting for months.
Speaking at a press conference in Kananaskis, Canada on Tuesday—hours before the cancellation—Mr Albanese said he looked forward to the dialogue.
The meeting was set to be dominated by discussions about the AUKUS defence pact and US-imposed tariffs.
Asked what a successful meeting would look like, Mr Albanese told reporters it would be one where he put forward the country’s “national interests”.
That opportunity has since been lost—at least in the immediate term.
Officials have not ruled out future talks via phone or at another international forum, but no replacement meeting has yet been scheduled.
The federal opposition has called on Mr Albanese to explain what his new plan is to secure another meeting with President Trump.
Nationals deputy leader Kevin Hogan acknowledged that President Trump leaving the G7 early was out of Mr Albanese’s control, but said he needed to organise another meeting.
“The Prime Minister must provide assurances on what his plan is now to ensure he gets a face to face meeting with President Trump,” Mr Hogan said in a statement.
