German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to meet Trump next week in D.C.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin, Germany on Wednesday, as shown in a photo by Clemens Bilan/EPA-EFE.

On May 31, it was announced that President Trump is set to meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz next week in Washington, D.C. Merz, who won in a parliamentary election on May 6, is scheduled to visit the White House on Thursday, according to a news release by German government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius on Saturday.

Merz, a member of the center-right Christian Democratic Union, took over from Olaf Scholz, who had been in office since 2021 with the Social Democratic Party. Merz, who has been in the Bundestag since 1994, became the opposition leader in February 2022. He will travel to Washington one day before the meeting, as reported by broadcaster n-tv.

The discussions between Trump and Merz are expected to cover bilateral relations, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Middle East, and trade policies, including tariffs, Kornelius stated. A White House official confirmed the meeting with The Hill.

Merz shares Trump’s desire for a ceasefire in the Ukraine-Russia conflict that began in February 2022. Prior to meeting with Trump, Merz had already held talks with Ukrainian President Zelensky in Berlin.

During the meeting, Chancellor Merz announced an increase in Germany’s financial aid to Ukraine as part of a more than $5.5 billion deal. This includes sending additional military equipment and boosting weapons production in Kyiv.

There has been criticism from members of the Trump administration regarding Germany’s labeling of the far-right Alternative for Germany party as an “extremist” political group. Merz, in an interview with Axel Springer Global Reporters Network published on May 7, emphasized Germany’s neutrality in American election campaigns.

Last week, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul visited Washington and met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump had previously spoken with Merz during a trip on May 10 with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to meet Zelensky in Kyiv.

Trump has also met with other foreign leaders since he resumed office on January 20, including Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Jordan’s King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Irish Prime Minister Micheel Martin, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Many world leaders, including Trump, attended the funeral for Francis on April 26 at the Vatican, although Merz was not among them.