President Barack Obama may not be attending AIPAC’s Policy Conference in Washington D.C. in the last year of his presidency.
The White House announced on Thursday that the President will travel to Cuba to meet with Cuban President Raul Castro, entrepreneurs, and “Cubans from different walks of life” on March 21 and 22.
The 2016 AIPAC Policy Conference is also scheduled for March 20-22. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit DC to address the annual gathering.
As of now, no meeting has been scheduled between Netanyahu and Obama, Israel Hayom reported. Following the announcement of the President’s Cuba trip, it is now unclear whether the two leaders will even meet while the Israeli Prime Minister is in town.
This will mark the second consecutive year that Netanyahu is in town for AIPAC’s conference and is not being invited to the White House. Last year, Netanyahu came to address a joint session of Congress against the President’s will. But after the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal and the ongoing negotiations over an increased security package, it was expected that Netanyahu and Obama would meet in March to finalize the details on a 10-year MOU between the U.S. and Israel. Though, a meeting may still take place when the President returns from Cuba on the 22nd.
Obama and Netanyahu last met in November.
A week and a half before Netanyahu travels to Washington, Vice President Joe Biden will visit Israel, Netanyahu announced on Sunday.
