By Euronews with AP
Published on
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to the US to meet with President Donald Trump next week, the German government announced on Saturday.
Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, bilateral relations and trade tensions will reportedly be key items on the agenda of the two leaders’ meeting
Merz’s office said the new German leader, who took the helm of Europe’s biggest economy on May 6, will meet with Trump in the White House on Thursday. It will be the first in-person meeting between the two.
The meeting between Trump and Merz will be followed by a lunch and press conference, according to local media.
He will travel to Washington on Wednesday evening at around 10pm following a dinner with state premiers in Berlin.
Merz and Trump have spoken on the phone several times in recent weeks – once one-on-one and three times in a larger group with several other European heads of state to discuss ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The German chancellor has also plunged into diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine and keep Western support for the country intact. On Wednesday, he hosted Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy in Berlin.
Germany has a strong interest in defusing trade tensions between the EU and the US. Trump threatened to impose 50% tariffs on goods imported from the bloc from Sunday, but then pushed the deadline back until July 9.
