Last Updated:
Trump said Netanyahu requested a White House meeting, possibly next week after the NATO summit.
US President Donald Trump next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Source: Reuters/File)
US President Donald Trump on Saturday said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had requested a meeting with him at the White House, adding that the talks could take place as early as next week after he returns from the NATO summit.
Referring to himself, Trump said, “We get along very good. [Netanyahu] knows who the boss is,” Axios reported.
If the meeting goes ahead, it would mark the first in-person talks between the two leaders since their Situation Room meeting in February, when Netanyahu presented his plan for launching a joint war against Iran.
An Israeli official said a visit next week may be unlikely due to Trump’s scheduled trip to Turkey for the NATO summit on July 7-8. “It might take place the week after,” the official said.
According to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu spoke with Trump on Friday to congratulate him on the 250th anniversary of the United States’ Independence Day. The statement added that the two leaders agreed to meet in the US in the near future.
“During their conversation, the Prime Minister said that the United States is a guarantor of global freedom, and that Israel greatly values the close relationship between the two nations. Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump agreed to meet soon in the United States,” Netanyahu’s office said.
Meanwhile, people close to Trump have reportedly become increasingly sceptical of Netanyahu in the months following their February meeting. “Many of Trump’s closest advisers think that Bibi was wrong about everything,” a US official said.
Last month, Trump reportedly criticised Netanyahu during a phone call over Israel’s escalation in Lebanon, calling the prime minister “crazy” and accusing him of ingratitude.
The reported tensions have also widened divisions within the Republican Party over Israel and the ongoing war, with MAGA figures such as Tucker Carlson accusing Trump of being beholden to Netanyahu.
Over the past two months, Trump and Netanyahu have increasingly differed on national security, foreign policy priorities and domestic political interests amid the war and other regional developments.
Despite Netanyahu’s reported reservations, Trump signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last month extending the ceasefire with Iran while launching fresh nuclear talks. He also urged Netanyahu to scale back Israel Defence Forces (IDF) operations in Lebanon and sign a framework agreement requiring an initial withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
United States of America (USA)
Read More
Source link
[ad_3]
