US President Donald Trump catches a basket from Chancellor Angela Merkel. He wanted to invite her to the G7 summit - now he reacted coolly.
- Donald Trump is targeting a real G7 summit in the U.S. despite the corona pandemic .
- The heads of state and government are scheduled to meet in Washington in June.
- The US president has now received the first rejection from Germany - he is planning a new format for a later meeting.
Update from May 31, 5:53 p.m .: Norbert Röttgen , the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, also condemned Donald Trump's G7 plans with harsh words. "The actions of the American President Trump with regard to the G7 summit are unacceptable in form and content," said the dpa CDU politician .
Röttgen stated: "Neither the composition nor the scheduling of the meeting of the leading western industrialized countries are subject to Mr. Trump's personal inclinations or election campaign considerations."
Meeting in corona crisis? Russia is reacting cautiously to Trump's G7 proposal
Update of May 31, 4:24 p.m .: Donald Trump's G7 advance * is being received with restraint in Moscow. The US president had proposed that Russia participate in the summit of the major industrialized nations. Russia is ready for any format of dialogue, but only on an equal footing with other participants, the foreign politician Dmitry Kosachev said to the agency Interfax .
The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Russian Federation Council continued: "A place as a spectator doesn't suit Russia." Above all, Russia now expects details of the initiative to decide whether to participate.
G7 cancellation: Merkel serves Trump cold - he responds defiantly
Update from May 31, 2020, 2:15 p.m .: After Merkel's rejection, Trump now wants to invite another guest to the G7 summit. He thinks the format is "very outdated" and wants to turn the G7 into a G10 or G11. Among other things, Russia's head of state Vladimir Putin is said to be among those invited - he also thinks of India, South Korea and Australia.
Speaking to journalists on board Air Force One, he said that the G7 meeting did not correctly reflect "what's happening in the world." As of the time, he said the meeting could take place in September or "I'll do it in November." the election "- this is probably an allusion to the fact that he is firmly based on his re-election.
G7: Merkel serves Trump ice cold because of Corona: "Some now believe ..."
First report of May 30, 2020: Berlin / Washington - US President Donald Trump is repeatedly criticized for his corona policy. Now the Republican has ventured the next tricky maneuver - inviting you to a physical G7 summit. Almost immediately he received a basket from Germany for his plans.
Chancellor Angela Merkel is unlikely to fly to the US for the planned G7 summit in June . "The Chancellor thanks President Trump for his invitation to the G7 summit. As of today, given the overall pandemic situation, she cannot promise her personal participation, ie a trip to Washington, ”said a government spokesman in Berlin on Saturday.
Merkel will "keep an eye on the development of the corona pandemic ," said the spokesman. Accordingly, the 65-year-old made a phone call to Donald Trump *. First, the US magazine Politico , citing government spokesman Steffen Seibert, reported on the cancellation.
Despite Corona, Trump invites to the G7 summit: Merkel does not want to fly to the United States
The Chancellor's decision fits her recent comments perfectly. Germany has so far passed the “exam” Corona quite well, said Merkel in her weekly video message published on Saturday . "We all together, an overwhelming majority of the people in our country, have been guided by caution, reason and responsibility for others." "We saved a lot. Our joint achievement is what fortunately we didn't do. ”
At the same time, Merkel * warned against underestimating the risks . “Some people now believe that because the great mass suffering has not occurred, the danger has never been so great. What a mistake! ”A look at friendly countries shows what could have happened - this could mean, in addition to EU countries such as Italy, France or Spain, the USA. The Chancellor also received praise for her corona policy from a well-known doctor on Saturday.
G7 summit in Washington: Donald Trump plans real meeting despite corona pandemic
In March, the White House had already announced that due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus *, the summit could not be held in Trump's Camp David manor, but had to be replaced by a video conference of the heads of state and government of the seven most important industrialized countries. But meanwhile, US President Trump * is targeting a real G7 summit in late June .
According to Trump *, his country is already recovering from the pandemic * so that the summit can take place, but "primarily" in the White House in Washington . A summit with the personal participation of the heads of state and government would be "a great sign of the normalization of everyone," said the 73-year-old.
SPD MEP Tiemo Wölken celebrates Chancellor Merkel's rejection: "Great"
Great. https://t.co/IS8HamK9Fq
- Tiemo Wölken (@woelken) May 30, 2020Merkel does not travel to the G7 summit in Washington - USA worst hit by corona pandemic
The United States is the most severely affected by the corona pandemic worldwide. More than 1.7 million infections have already been detected there , and more than 102,000 infected people have died . According to the latest data, the US capital Washington DC and its metropolitan area are also particularly affected by corona infections *. Trump * is accused of underestimating the novel corona virus and reacting inadequately.
In addition to the USA and Germany, the G7 also includes France, Italy, Great Britain, Canada and Japan. The annual summits alternately host the member countries.
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
dpa / AFP
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