Australian PM cancels Quad meeting next week after Biden pulls out

CANBERRA: Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has cancelled the planned Quad leaders' meeting next week after US President Joe Biden postponed his visit to the country.

Albanese on Wednesday said that the Quad leaders' meeting for himself, Biden, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, that was scheduled to be held in Sydney on May 24 will not take place, reported Xinhua.

The change to Biden's travel plan was due to the ongoing stalemate in negotiations with congressional leaders to address the debt ceiling crisis in the United States, according to the White House.

Albanese said the leaders could instead meet on the sidelines of the G7 meeting to be held in Japan this weekend, after which Biden will return to Washington.

"Because that has to be solved prior to June 1 - otherwise there are quite drastic consequences for the US economy, which will flow on to the global economy - he understandably has had to make that decision," Albanese told reporters.

Albanese said it was still possible that Modi and Kishida would travel to Australia for talks.

-- BERNAMA