Mertz will meet with Trump for the first time next week

Mertz will meet with Trump for the first time next week

Next week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, almost a month after taking office, will visit Washington, where he will hold his first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, reports Bloomberg citing German government spokesman Stefan Cornelius.

According to him, during the talks, the leaders will focus on Russia’s war against Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, and trade policy.

The publication emphasizes that Merz will have the opportunity to convey his opinion to Trump, unlike his predecessor Olaf Scholz, who never received an invitation to the White House after openly supporting former U.S. President Joe Biden and the candidacy of Democrat 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 might face the same treatment.

The article notes that relations between the U.S. and Germany remain tense. Trump, in particular, is dissatisfied with how Germany treats the far-right party "Alternative for Germany." Secretary of State Marco Rubio even called the initiative to classify the second-largest party in the Bundestag as far-right "concealed tyranny."

To reduce tensions in relations, Merz seeks to show a willingness 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 the national GDP in the coming years.