President Biden said on Sunday that Republicans in the US House must leave their “extreme positions” on now-stalled talks about raising the US debt limit and that there will be no agreement to avert catastrophic bankruptcy, only on their conditions.

It is time for the Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal that can be made alone, solely on their partisan terms,” ​​Biden said in Hiroshima, Japan, where he attended the Group of Seven summit.

Biden said he had done his part by trying to raise the debt ceiling so the US government can continue to pay its bills, and agreed to cut spending. Now is the time for the other side to get out of their extreme position, he said.

Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy were expected to talk later Sunday, likely when Biden flew home on Air Force One after cutting short his trip in light of tense negotiations.

I suspect he wants to deal directly with me to make sure we’re all on the same page,” Biden said of McCarthy, adding that he believed compromise remained within reach.

I hope Speaker McCarthy is waiting to negotiate with me when I get home. …I’m waiting to find out.”

GOP lawmakers are sticking to demands for sharp cuts and rejecting the alternatives proposed by the White House to reduce the deficits.

Republicans want job requirements for the Medicaid health program, though the Biden administration has countered that millions of people could lose coverage. The GOP also introduced new cuts to food aid by limiting states ability to waive work requirements in places with high unemployment. That idea, when floated under President Trump, is estimated to have caused 700,000 people to lose their food benefits.

GOP lawmakers are also seeking cuts in IRS funding and asking the White House to accept provisions of their proposed immigration overhaul.

The White House has countered this by leveling defense and non-defense spending next year, which would save $90 billion in fiscal year 2024 and $1 trillion over 10 years.

I think we can reach an agreement, Biden said.

Still, he said, I can’t guarantee they wouldn’t force default by doing something outrageous.

Republicans had also rejected proposals from the White House to raise revenue to further reduce deficits. Among the proposals the GOP objects to are policies that would allow Medicare to pay less for prescription drugs and close a dozen tax loopholes. Republicans have refused to reverse Trump-era tax breaks for businesses and wealthy households, as Biden’s own budget has proposed.

The decision to set up a conversation with McCarthy came after another start-stop day with no outward signs of progress. On Saturday morning, food was taken to the Capitol negotiating room, only to be carted off hours later, and no meeting was expected. However, talks could resume on Sunday after talks with the two leaders.

McCarthy tweeted that it was the White House that backed off in the negotiations.

He said the socialist wing of the Democratic party appears to be in control, especially with President Biden out of the country.

Republican Representative Dusty Johnson, who has worked closely with McCarthy to shape the GOP proposal, told the Associated Press late Saturday that no meetings were scheduled for Sunday. Republicans are trying to get the attention of the president rather than negotiators.

If the president doesn’t re-hire, I don’t know if the talks with staff can bear fruit, Johnson said.

Biden, who attended the meeting of the world’s most powerful democracies, tried to reassure them that the United States would not default, a scenario that would shake the global economy. He said he felt there was progress in the talks.

For months, Biden had refused to engage in talks on the debt limit, insisting Congress was trying to use the borrowing limit vote as leverage to squeeze out other policy priorities.

But with the US Treasury Department saying it could run out of money on June 1 and Republicans putting their own legislation on the table, the White House launched talks on a budget deal that could involve raising the debt limit.