An official statement from the White House has confirmed US President Donald Trump is "still considering" whether to honour the refugee resettlement deal with Australia struck under his predecessor Barack Obama.
It follows days of confusion in which the Australian government insisted the agreement would be honoured, amid conflicting messages from the Trump administration and a crackdown on Muslim immigration under the new president.
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Confusion continues over refugee deal
Australian politicians say the deal to resettle refugees in the US is on track, but President Donald Trump seems to still be deciding. Courtesy ABC.
"The President is still considering whether or not he will move forward with this deal at this time," said a written statement from the White House provided to the ABC. "He is considering doing it because of the long and good relationship we have with Australia."
The backtrack came after White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Wednesday told reporters at a daily media briefing Mr Trump would honour the deal and accept 1250 refugees from Manus Island and Nauru, subject to an "extreme vetting" process.
The Australian government has pointed to Mr Spicer's public remarks as evidence the Trump administration will stick to the agreement.
Less than an hour before the White House statement was published by the ABC, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told reporters in Sydney: "I would like some clarification as to what you think the confusion is. I'm not dealing with unofficial calls from unnamed people. I'm dealing with the official representations and statements from the White House."
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