Pedro Sánchez will miss Donald Trump's reception for international leaders in New York because of his schedule, according to Moncloa. During the UN session, Delcy Rodríguez approached the Spanish prime minister and asked to keep discussing Venezuela.
Pedro Sánchez will not attend Donald Trump's reception for international leaders in New York, despite receiving an invitation. Moncloa says the trip had already been organised when the invitation arrived. The government cites scheduling reasons.
The same day brought a more unexpected scene. Venezuelan president Delcy Rodríguez left her seat at the United Nations and walked over to greet the Spanish prime minister. It happened on the first day of the UN General Assembly's high-level week.
According to Moncloa sources, Rodríguez asked to continue discussing the situation in Venezuela. Sánchez said Spain remained committed to the region's future. No further meeting between the two leaders is scheduled.
Journalist Patrícia Vasconcellos recorded the exchange and posted it on X. Euronews and other Spanish-language outlets also reported the approach.
Reuters reported that Trump’s New York programme included a reception for leaders and a planned brief pull-aside with Delcy Rodríguez, placing the Venezuela issue directly alongside Sánchez’s decision not to attend.
Rodríguez approached Sánchez while he was with Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares and Vice President Sara Aagesen. She left the room after the brief encounter.
The scene put Venezuela alongside Sánchez's decision to stay away from Trump's social reception. Those were the main points of interest on his first day at the UN high-level week.
Moncloa says the decision was not a political gesture. Government spokesperson Elma Saiz said the invitation arrived only a few days before the event, after the full trip had already been arranged. Albares also rejected the idea that Sánchez had snubbed Trump. He described the reception as a social event that some leaders attend and others miss because of their schedules.
The official programme includes Sánchez's attendance with Aagesen and Albares at the opening of the general debate of the 81st period of sessions of the United Nations General Assembly. Trump will speak at the opening.
This will be Sánchez's ninth appearance at the opening. It will also be his last during his current mandate because general elections in Spain will have taken place before the next session.
Reuters and Spanish media have reported the government's explanation. Other coverage points out that no public official engagement was listed for Sánchez during the reception period. That has fuelled speculation that his absence carried a political message. Moncloa rejects that interpretation.
The timing has become politically sensitive because reports differ over Sánchez’s calendar: Moncloa cites a previously organised trip and a late invitation, while some Spanish publications note that no public official event was listed for the same period. The government continues to deny that the decision was intended as a diplomatic snub.
His programme also includes a meeting with British Prime Minister Andy Burham. He is due to attend events on protecting children from artificial intelligence and defending the UN sustainable development goals.
Sánchez is also due to attend a tribute to writer and journalist Gloria Steinem. Moncloa has announced planned bilateral meetings with the governor of California, a former prime minister of the Commonwealth of Australia and Apple's chief executive.
On Monday, Sánchez met UN Secretary-General António Guterres. They discussed multilateral priorities, sustainable development, climate change and artificial intelligence.
Guterres praised cooperation between the United Nations and Spain. Sánchez recognised the organisation's work during a period of international fragmentation.
The New York visit will continue on Wednesday 23. Sánchez will be the main guest at an event organised by mayor Zohran Mamdani.
His UN address is scheduled for 02.00 on the night from Wednesday to Thursday. He will then travel to Boston, where he will speak at Harvard University and meet the governor of Massachusetts.
Spain's domestic political disputes are also following him across the Atlantic. On Monday, judge Juan Carlos Peinado announced that Begoña Gómez would be sent to oral trial before a popular jury. The decision is likely to come up at Sánchez's press conference.
The absence from Trump's reception has already drawn criticism from the Partido Popular. Its parliamentary spokesperson, Ester Muñoz, mocked the explanation and suggested that it could divert attention from Ceuta.
Ceuta is also on Albares's diplomatic agenda. The foreign minister plans to meet Morocco's Naser Burita in New York to discuss the situation in the autonomous city and the return of migrants who remain there after the mass entry at the end of July.
No date has been fixed because the schedules are still being coordinated. Albares says he remains in contact with Rabat over a new social-media call to enter Ceuta on Wednesday. As earlier coverage noted, the city has already become a visible pressure point for the government.
Sánchez's New York schedule sends two messages. He is presenting Spain through multilateral diplomacy while limiting his participation in Trump's informal presidential reception. He is also keeping Venezuela in the political conversation without announcing a new bilateral meeting.
The government's explanation is specific and has been repeated by two ministers. The PP has chosen to frame the absence as a political failure.
On the available facts, this is not a diplomatic rupture. It is an agenda decision that has gained political weight because of the disputes over Venezuela, Ceuta and Begoña Gómez.
