Mexican president to skip U.S.-hosted summit floats Washington meeting with Biden.

On Thursday, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced that he would not be meeting with US President Joe Biden at the international summit scheduled for San Francisco in November. Instead, Lopez Obrador suggested that the two leaders meet in Washington that month.

Because he disagreed with the current Peruvian government, which would serve as the APEC forum’s next chair, Lopez Obrador claimed he no longer intended to attend the San Francisco APEC summit. Instead, he proposed holding the gathering in Washington.

Lopez Obrador stated at a routine government press conference, “I’m not going to attend the San Francisco one since we don’t have links with Peru.

Lopez Obrador intended to attend the APEC summit only a few weeks ago and meet with Biden there. The United States will preside over the summit in San Francisco. Among APEC’s 21 members are Mexico and the United States.

After Lopez Obrador’s remarks criticizing the dismissal of fellow leftist Pedro Castillo, the Peruvian government asked Mexico’s ambassador to Lima to depart. This strained relations between the two countries.

If Biden cannot attend in November, Lopez Obrador suggested a meeting during a summit of North American leaders that Canada will be hosting in January.

The next North American summit’s date hasn’t been announced yet.

Because the governments of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua had been left out of Washington’s invitation to the Americas summit in Los Angeles last year, Lopez Obrador declined the invitation.

According to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Mexican officials had “raised the possibility” that Lopez Obrador may postpone his travel to San Francisco. He only stated, “We’ll have to talk to them,” failing to elaborate.

Biden and Lopez Obrador reportedly spoke about commerce, immigration, drug trafficking, and violence.

The president claimed that Biden had also been invited to visit Mexico to observe the numerous energy and infrastructural projects currently being built in the Gulf of Mexico and southern Mexico, including the multi-billion-dollar flagship Tren Maya train line.