US President Joe Biden confirmed on Monday that he will meet on Tuesday with the leaders of the parliamentary opposition, including Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy, to try to avoid the risk of a US default, AFP and Agerpres noted.

The Democratic president, at the end of a family dinner in Philadelphia (northeast), answered in the affirmative to reporters who asked him about the organization of this meeting.

Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy and three other congressional leaders originally planned to meet last Friday after a first round of talks without much progress on May 9.

But the meeting was postponed, and since then the teams of various heroes have been negotiating.

“I remain an optimist, because I am an innate optimist, but I really believe that there is a desire on their part and on our part to reach an agreement. I think we’re going to get there,” Joe Biden said on Sunday.

On the other hand, the White House reported that the American president still wants to fly on Wednesday on a diplomatic tour to Asia and the Pacific region.

In a very different tone, Kevin McCarthy said on Monday: “I think we’re still very far away. I don’t think (Democrats and the White House) want a deal.”

The US Congress must quickly vote to raise the national debt ceiling, or the United States risks being unable to meet its financial obligations and repayment deadlines.

Republicans refuse to do so until Joe Biden agrees to serious budget cuts.

The US Congressional Budget Office said on Friday that without a deal, the United States would be in default starting in early June.