Britain’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, has pulled the plug on her planned face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden this weekend — while keeping appointments with several other heads of state ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday.
No reason was given for the apparent snub of the US president, which was announced by Truss’s office Saturday.
Instead, Truss will hold a bilateral meeting with Biden in New York on Sept. 21, when both are set to attend the United Nations General Assembly.
Her pre-funeral confabs with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Polish President Andrzej Duda are proceeding as planned, according to Politico.
Truss, who took over from Boris Johnson as Britain’s prime minister just days before the Queen’s demise, is using the series of “low-key” meetings during the funeral weekend to establish herself in her new role, the Times of London reported.
Biden was aboard Air Force One on his way to London when the change in plans was announced.