Netanyahu fails to arrange meeting with Trump, visit to US canceled

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled his planned visit to the United States next week because he was unable to arrange a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli channel I24 reports citing sources.

"The date of the meeting was never determined, and no preliminary agreements were reached regarding its agenda or expected results," the channel explains.

According to sources, "intensive efforts" were made in recent days to organize Netanyahu's meeting with Trump during the visit, but "these efforts ultimately failed."

On Thursday, the Israeli prime minister's office reported that the postponement of the visit was related to a change in the date of the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham (listed by Russia as a terrorist and extremist), which Netanyahu had planned to attend. However, according to I24, the decision to cancel the visit was not solely due to scheduling considerations.

The diplomatic backdrop, as I24 notes, has been greatly complicated after the failure of the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran.

"Right now Netanyahu is not interested in a photo op at the White House. It's just not the right time right now," a channel source said.

Source: Interfax