German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Washington next week, almost a month after taking office, for his first meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Bloomberg reported this, citing German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius.
According to him, the leaders' talks will focus on russia's war against Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and trade policy.
The publication emphasized that Merz will have the opportunity to convey his position to Trump, unlike his predecessor Olaf Scholz, who never received an invitation to the White House after openly supporting former US President Joe Biden and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
German officials fear that after Trump publicly humiliated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, Merz could face similar treatment.
Relations between the United States and Germany remain tense, the article notes. Trump is particularly unhappy with Germany's treatment of the far-right Alternative for Germany party. Secretary of State Marco Rubio even called the move to classify the second-largest party in the Bundestag as far-right a "hidden tyranny."
To ease tensions in the relationship, Merz is seeking to show that he is prepared to meet some of Trump's demands. In particular, he has pledged to put Germany on a path that involves more than doubling defense spending to 5% of national GDP in the coming years.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.