Donald Trump's apparent unfamiliarity with the term AUKUS, a key defence deal between Australia, the United Kingdom, and United States, was played down by the Australian government as a likely mix-up with acronyms.
During a press conference at the Oval Office on Thursday, the US president was asked whether he intended to discuss the AUKUS alliance in his meeting with visiting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
"What does that mean?" Mr Trump responded, seemingly puzzled by the reference.
"AUKUS — the Australia-US defence alliance," the reporter explained.
Mr Trump responded: "Well, we will be discussing that. We've had another great relationship, and you have too, with Australia. We've had a very good relationship with Australia."
AUKUS is a trilateral security pact that aims to equip Australia with three US-built nuclear submarines by the 2030s, in exchange for about $4.78 billion in payouts from Canberra to Washington.
It also entails the development of a new submarine, the SSN-AUKUS, on Australian and British shores beginning 2030.
That's the first pillar of the agreement. The second pillar involves creating a platform for advanced technology cooperation between the three countries, including the sharing of quantum computing, artificial intelligence and hypersonic weapons.
Progress on the project has been slow and is expected to be marred by further setbacks. The Trump administration, which is yet to officially state its position on the agreement, will be crucial in shepherding it.
Earlier this month US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles in Washington DC and said Mr Trump was "supportive" of the AUKUS alliance, but the president has not attested to this view.
Albanese brushes aside Trump's AUKUS slip-up
Australian politicians appeared unperturbed by Mr Trump's AUKUS remark.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there were "a lot of acronyms in this business and we all get thrown at them from time to time".
"I've seen President Trump's comments. Together with Keir Starmer, he went on to speak about the really important and positive relationship with Australia," he told reporters in Sydney on Friday.
"That's consistent with the discussions that I've had with President Trump, that included, of course, talking about AUKUS, which we spoke about during both of our discussions."
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he did not hold concerns for the future of the deal.
"Not everyone gets the acronyms and all the rest of it, but there's no doubt in my mind the president strongly supports the alliance between our three countries and strongly supports AUKUS," he told the Today show.
"He's stated that previously."
Cabinet minister Murray Watt said Labor was "very confident" in AUKUS's security and that it was not prudent to overreact to a sentiment from "a president with a very full plate".
UK 'all in' on Ukraine aid, Starmer tells Trump
Ukraine peace talks dominated Mr Trump and Mr Starmer's Thursday meeting, the first between the two leaders since the new US administration took effect last month.
Mr Starmer, who was described as a "tough negotiator" by Mr Trump, said London was ready to deploy troops in support of a Ukraine peace deal.
"Europe must step up. The UK is all in," he said, warning that any agreement must "stop [Vladimir] Putin coming back for more".
Mr Trump said a critical minerals deal, close to being finalised between the US and Ukraine, was the only security guarantee Kyiv needed against Russia, dismissing Mr Starmer's plea for a commitment of American military support.
Transatlantic frictions over US-Russia talks and Mr Trump's reciprocal tariff threats are among the underlying differences that remain between the two allies.
Mr Starmer has signalled that Britain will increase defence spending and tried to reassure the US president that Europe will provide support and security guarantees to Kyiv if peace talks with Russia are successful.
Mr Trump said he was confident Russian President Vladimir Putin would not press to restart the war in the future.
"I think he'll keep his word," he said of Mr Putin. "I've spoken to him, I've known him for a long time now."
Also on Thursday Mr Trump reaffirmed the US' long commitments to the mutual defence of NATO nations even if European peacekeepers end up in Ukraine, saying "I support it. I don't think we're going to have any reason for it".
Mr Starmer also delivered an invitation from King Charles for a second state visit, which Mr Trump accepted.
ABC/Reuters
