The Prime Minister of Australia will not go to the NATO meeting

Sydney Morning Herald reported that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has decided not to go to Washington to participate in the NATO meeting, and Defense Minister Richard Marles will go to Washington instead.

Albanese was expected to meet with his counterparts from Japan, South Korea and New Zealand as members of the so-called Quad (Indo-Pacific) grouping at a summit dedicated to the 75th anniversary of NATO’s founding, RT reported. It starts next Tuesday.

However, this Australian newspaper wrote: Today Tuesday, the office of Marles (Minister of Defense) issued a statement and said that his presence in this meeting is based on Australia’s commitment to support the strategic priorities of our region and to maintain the global order based on rules and at the same time It emphasizes the advancement of Australia’s security, economic and commercial agenda.

An Australian government source told the Sydney Morning Herald that the decision was made after Albanese failed to hold a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden ahead of the summit.

According to the source, Albanese’s office has advised the prime minister not to go to the summit, as it may cause more criticism from the domestic public.

Australia has partner status in NATO, having been invited by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to attend this year’s summit. A meeting at the level of leaders is scheduled to be held on July 9-11 (July 19-21) in Washington within the framework of NATO’s 75th anniversary celebrations in the Transatlantic Alliance.

Translator: Mina Azimi