Merkel, Trump to Meet in Washington This Month

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet US President Donald Trump in the White House March 14, sources in the US and German governments confirmed March 3.

Photo: Reuters

White House Deputy Spokesperson Sarah Sanders confirmed the meeting date and said the two leaders would also likely hold a joint press conference.

The meeting will come just before the meeting in Germany of finance ministers of the G20. Merkel holds the chairmanship of the group for 2017. Trump is due in Germany in July for a G20 leaders' meeting, the New York Times points out.

Merkel, who had a very supportive relationship with Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, has been critical of the new US president, particularly of his stance on immigration. Trump has issued dramatic (some say cruel) executive orders on immigration in the US since taking power weeks ago, some of which were immediately blocked by the country's court system and remain tied up in legal battles.

Trump has also had harsh words for her, particularly for her open-door migration policy, which allowed Germany to take in more than 1 million refugees in 2015. On the campaign trail, Trump called it a "disaster." The two also found themselves on opposite sides of the UK's decision to leave the EU. Trump has ruffled European feathers generally with his dismissive comments about both the EU and NATO.

In a statement after the US election in November, Merkel said, "Germany and America share the values of democracy, freedom, respect for the rule of law and human dignity, regardless of origin, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political belief. On the basis of these values, I offer close cooperation to the future president of the United States of America, Donald Trump."

This will be their first face-to-face meeting.