Foto: Heiko Junge / NTB scanpix

Tysklands statsminister Angela Merkel har takket nei til invitasjonen fra USAs president Donald Trump om å delta personlig ved G7-møtet i USA som opprinnelig var planlagt i slutten av juni. Merkel avslår invitasjonen under henvisning til koronasituasjonen, opplyser Politico.

«The federal chancellor thanks President Trump for his invitation to the G7 summit at the end of June in Washington. As of today, considering the overall pandemic situation, she cannot agree to her personal participation, to a journey to Washington,» German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told POLITICO Friday.

Trump hadde suspendert planene om G7 i juni på grunn av pandemien, men ønsker nå å arrangere møtet likevel for å sende et signal til verden om at normaliteten kommer tilbake.

Merkels avslag, som er en strek i regningen i så måte, kan tolkes som en konsekvens av det dårlige forholdet til Trump:

Merkel’s refusal to accept Trump’s invitation is the latest in a long line of examples of the difficult relationship between the two leaders. Trump has repeatedly criticized Germany, and Merkel specifically, over issues ranging from Berlin’s trade surplus to its defense spending and commitment to NATO. Merkel has pointedly and publicly taken issue with the Trump administration’s unilateral approach to a range of foreign policy issues, from climate change to the Iran nuclear deal.

Uenigheten gjør seg gjeldende over et stort spekter av saksfelter:

In a call between Trump and Merkel this week, the two leaders had heated disagreements on topics including NATO, the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, and relations with China, according to a senior U.S. official, who declined to be named. Seibert, the German spokesman, did not respond to a question about whether the conversation was heated.

Anonyme tjenestepersoner som har uttalt seg til Politico, antyder at de europeiske G7-lederne vegrer seg for å bidra til at Trump gjør en god figur før presidentvalget:

But while officials said Merkel’s reluctance to attend the G7 summit was primarily based on the ongoing health situation, they also said European G7 leaders are concerned that Trump may simply want to use their visit for an election-year photo op, and as a basis for declaring the world is getting back to work — thanks to him.

 

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