German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday, July 3, she expects the Group of 20 leading economies to agree broadly on tackling international terrorism at a summit in Hamburg, but have differences on other issues.
“I don’t think we’ll have unified positions on all issues at the end but it’s sensible and honest to talk to each other on all issues of international diplomacy,” Merkel told a news conference.
She suggested there would be some conflict on certain issues with the United States under President Donald Trump.
“We know certain positions that the American government holds and I don’t expect that these positions will be abandoned as a result of a two-day trip to Hamburg,” she said.
Merkel and Trump have plans to meet on Thursday, July 6, the evening before G-20 according to a German government spokesperson.
The leaders plan to discuss combating terrorism as well as how to finance future United Nations peacekeeping operations, German publishing company RND reports.
Last week, Merkel suggested Washington’s position on trade and environment were out of touch with an increasingly globalized world.
“Whoever believes that the world’s problems can be solved by isolationism and protectionism is mistaken,” Merkel said.
Merkel also doubled down on the Trump administration last week for its stance on climate change.
“Since the withdrawal of the U.S. [from the Paris climate accord], we’re more determined than ever that this be a success,” Merkel said Thursday, June 29.
She continued to say “The Paris agreement is irreversible and it is not negotiable.”
“As the G-20, we cannot ignore the challenge that climate change poses to all of us in the world,” she said, adding that leaders must keep in mind the concerns of island nations, which are most at risk from rising sea levels.
“We cannot expect easy talks in Hamburg,” Merkel said about the Paris climate accord. “The disagreement is obvious, and it would be dishonest to gloss over it. I won’t do that, in any case.”
