"The president will not be meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu because of the proximity to the Israeli election, which is two weeks after his planned address to the U.S. Congress," National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a statement.
“As a matter of long-standing principle, we do not see heads of state or candidates in close proximity to their elections, to avoid the appearance of influencing a democratic election in a foreign country," said Meehan.
Netanyahu's visit has already sparked difficult relations between the Israeli leader and Obama. Republican House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to address a combined meeting of Congress for the purpose of challenging the president's approach to Islamist extremism and negotiations with Iran over that country's nuclear program. The White House, which only found out about the visit from Boehner's office, accused Israel of breaching the diplomatic protocol.
It is no secret on how Netanyahu feels about the opposition with ongoing talks with Iran, saying that Tehran cannot be trusted to abandon it's ability to build a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel.
"The president has been clear about his opposition to Congress passing new legislation on Iran that could undermine our negotiations and divide the international community," said Meehan. "The president has had many conversations with the Prime Minister on this matter, and I am sure they will continue to be in contact on this and other important matters.” Only time will tell if they keep I'm contact to discuss certain issues.
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