Australia says Quad meeting could still proceed without Biden

FILE PHOTO: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese looks on as he speaks to the media at Downing Street in London, Britain May 5, 2023. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday a Quad summit could still go ahead as scheduled in Sydney next week without U.S. President Joe Biden, who postponed his trip to Australia due to debt ceiling negotiations in Washington.

Albanese said his government was in talks with the prime ministers of Japan and India after Biden canceled his attendance at the summit and the second leg of his upcoming Asia trip, which was also to have included a visit to Papua New Guinea.