CARBIS BAY, ENGLAND – U.S. President Joe Biden will host German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Washington on July 15 in what will likely be her farewell visit to the United States after almost 16 years at the helm of Europe’s largest economy.
The announcement was made Friday on the first day of the Group of Seven summit in England. Biden has hosted two other world leaders since taking office, Japan and South Korea.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden and Merkel “will discuss their commitment to close cooperation on a range of common challenges, including ending the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing the threat of climate change, and promoting economic prosperity and international security based on our shared democratic values.”
A standoff over the completion of the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline piping Russian gas to Europe has strained ties at a time when Berlin and Washington are eager to rebuild relations after former U.S. President Donald Trump’s term.
The United States waived sanctions last month on the company behind the pipeline, Russian state energy firm Gazprom, giving Berlin and Washington three more months to resolve the dispute.
It will probably be Merkel’s farewell visit to the United States since she plans to step down after a September national election, regardless of how her Christian Democrats fare in the polls.
The trip is scheduled just days after a July 10 deadline for Europe and the United States to settle a nearly 17-year-old dispute…
