Germany’s Angela Merkel visits U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday with no illusions of matching his “special relationship” with France’s Emmanuel Macron, but hoping to foster a broader dialogue on trade - one of a batch of tricky topics likely to be addressed.
Merkel visits Trump without illusions, but with hope
STEPANAKERT, APRIL 27, ARTSAKHPRESS:The cautious Merkel has failed to establish a good personal rapport with the brash Trump, and the mood music of her one-day working visit to the White House will almost certainly contrast sharply with the tactile “bromance” between Trump and Macron.
Yet her trip may prove more productive. Before heading home after a three-day state visit in Washington, Macron acknowledged that, despite his efforts to dissuade Trump from pulling out of the multinational Iran nuclear deal, he remained likely to do so.
The Iran deal, looming U.S. tariffs on European steel and aluminum products, a planned Russian gas pipeline running under the Baltic Sea to Germany, and Berlin’s military spending are issues that divide Merkel and Trump and likely to come up at their working lunch.
