Positive Outlook for Albanese Amid Extended Wait for Upcoming Trump Meeting

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As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese contemplated his readiness for a direct conversation with United States President Donald Trump, the White House press secretary was composing a tweet that would eliminate the possibility of the meeting happening as planned.

Albanese addressed the media on Monday afternoon (local time) in Calgary, the Canadian city serving as a gathering place for attendees not participating in the G7 leaders’ summit and engaging in discussions away from the primary event.

The G7 leaders were situated at a resort in Kananaskis, more than an hour away, to engage in high-level discussions on defense, security, and trade.

At the press event, Albanese remained hopeful that the meeting with Trump would proceed.

He discussed his thorough preparations for international meetings, drawing parallels to the intensive daily briefings during the election campaign and his strategy to address both supportive and challenging media outlets.

He mentioned he had been in communication with “The Shark” — renowned Australian golfer Greg Norman, who is known for his close connection with Trump — during the previous week.

Albanese also said he had sought counsel from Australia’s US ambassador Kevin Rudd, paying tribute to his “extraordinary capacity in terms of his skills and knowledge of the United States system”.

But despite praising that diplomatic prowess it appears no-one in the Australian diplomatic corps was given a heads-up that Trump was preparing to fire up Air Force One a day early and cancel tomorrow’s meeting because of the escalating conflict in the Middle East, as Israel and Iran continue to trade strikes.

Leavitt declared the trip to the G7 a success.

“Significant progress was made, but due to the situation in the Middle East, President Trump will depart tonight following dinner with Heads of State,” the announcement stated.

French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, and US President Donald Trump, wearing suits and ties, standing outside.

(From left to right) French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and US President Donald Trump at the G7 summit on Monday. Source: AAP, AP / Suzanne Plunkett

Albanese had been preparing his diplomatic brief for the planned talks in Kananaskis on Tuesday (local time). It would have been the last meeting before Trump returned to Washington.

The meeting was only formally confirmed in recent days and nails were bitten to the quick on the Australian side in anticipation.

Albanese is still expected to leave the flat plains of Calgary tomorrow and make the journey to the G7’s main event in the Rocky Mountains for a series of other meetings with world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and UK leader Keir Starmer.

That meeting could now happen in Washington around the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York which Albanese is expected to attend in September.

There is some consolation for the prime minister from this highly dramatic chain of events.

During a joint press conference in Kananaskis with Trump and Starmer, an American reporter asked whether the AUKUS deal, which is between the US, UK and Australia, was proceeding despite the Pentagon’s review.

The pair were in agreement that while reviews were sensible, the alliance was strong and it was a clear indication the nuclear submarine plans remain firmly on the table.

Despite not getting his own taste of the Trumpian world in person yet, Albanese still secured some clarity on one of the nation’s most important and expensive joint defence and national security ventures.

SBS News’ chief political correspondent Anna Henderson is in Canada covering the G7 summit.