From Donald Trump's perspective, it would be a "great signal of normalization": The US President wants a real G7 meeting in Washington. He will probably have to do without the Chancellor's presence.
Berlin / Washington (dpa) - Chancellor Angela Merkel gives US President Donald Trump a basket: Due to the corona crisis, she is unlikely to fly to the G7 summit in the United States, which Trump wants to host in Washington at the end of June.
The Chancellor thanks Trump for his invitation, a government spokesman said on Saturday in Berlin on request. But: "As of today, given the overall pandemic situation, she cannot promise her personal participation, that is, a trip to Washington." Merkel will keep an eye on the development of the pandemic. Previously, the magazine "Politico", citing government spokesman Steffen Seibert, reported on the cancellation.
US President Donald Trump is aiming for a real G7 meeting in Washington in late June as a sign of normalization. This year it is hosting the summit of the seven leading economies. The meeting was originally scheduled for June 10-12 at the President's country estate in Camp David. In March, however, the US government canceled the summit because of the corona pandemic and scheduled a video conference instead.
On May 20, however, Trump had surprisingly announced that, given a recovery in the corona crisis, he is considering holding the meeting as a real meeting. He justified this with the fact that a real summit would be a great signal of normalization and that other countries like the USA are already making a comeback. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also spoke in favor of such a meeting on a phone call to the US President on Friday.
Merkel had initially left open whether she would accept Trump's invitation or participate in a video conference. In whatever form this meeting takes place, "whether as a video conference or otherwise, I will definitely fight for multilateralism. That is very clear. Both G7 and G20," said the Chancellor on May 20.
According to Trump's ideas, the meeting could mainly take place in the White House in Washington. According to the latest data, the US capital and its metropolitan area are proportionally particularly affected by corona infections. Trump has been trying to spread confidence in the corona pandemic for weeks, and has long held the prospect of a quick recovery in the country. The United States has been badly hit by the Corona pandemic, with more than 100,000 deaths now.
So far, there are also strict travel restrictions between the USA and Europe, which raises additional questions about the feasibility of an early personal summit. In addition to the USA, the "Group of Seven" includes Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and Canada.