The United States declared neutrality in April of 1793. At this point in France, Layfayette would've have been thrown in jail by Maximilian Robespierre had he shown his face so he was wisely on the run and looking for safe places to lay low. The execution of Louis XVI earlier that winter really sent shock waves through Europe and even to America. The fact that dear Lafayette was no longer welcome in Paris outside of the Bastille probably told Washington all he needed to know as he declared neutrality. And though I'm speculating, I imagine it would have been hard for Lafayette to come down too harshly on Washington for doubting the stability of a regime that had turned the father of the French Revolution himself into persona non grata, seemingly overnight.