Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday a planned Quad summit will not go ahead in Sydney next week and that he instead hopes to meet the leaders from Japan, the United States and India in Hiroshima while there for a Group of Seven summit later this week.
The change came after U.S. President Joe Biden canceled his stop in Australia, citing the need to return to Washington to negotiate with Congress over a looming debt ceiling deadline.
After speaking to Biden over the phone earlier in the day, Albanese said he will cancel the Quad summit, slated for May 24, and that he, Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will instead seek to hold talks on the sidelines of the G-7 meeting.
As the Biden administration has decided to shorten the Asia-Pacific itinerary, including canceling a stop in Papua New Guinea, the president will only visit the western Japan city for the G-7 summit from Friday, the White House said Tuesday.
"All four leaders -- President Biden, Prime Minister Kishida, Prime Minister Modi and myself -- will be at the G-7 held in Hiroshima," Albanese told reporters in Tweed Heads, New South Wales, according to the prime minister's office. "We are attempting to get together over that period of time."
"The Quad is an important body and we want to make sure that it occurs at the leadership level, and we'll be having that discussion over the weekend," he added.
Albanese confirmed later Wednesday in a radio interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that Modi will not alter his planned visit to Sydney, which will include bilateral and business meetings.
He also noted that Kishida did not have a similar bilateral program, and that he had only been due to visit for the now-canceled Quad summit.
In a news conference in Tokyo on the same day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Kishida will forgo his trip to Australia after the Japanese government was informed of the cancellation of the Quad summit in Sydney.
Australia and other participants are rescheduling the four-way meeting and considering where it may next be held.
"Nothing has been decided as of now," the top government spokesman said.
Related coverage:
Biden to urge importance of nuke disarmament at G-7 summit: spokesman
U.N. chief urges no-use nuclear weapons policy ahead of G-7 summit
U.S. to give more security assistance to Taiwan soon: Pentagon chief
