U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed German chancellor, Angela Merkel, to the White House for the first time. The two discussed the nearly complete Russia-to-Germany pipeline, as well as human rights issues in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
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Rolling out the red carpet for German chancellor was U.S. President Joe Biden, who welcomed German chancellor, Angela Merkel, to the White House today.
Soon after arriving at the White House, Merkel had a working breakfast with Vice President Kamala Harris, and Harris' office said in a statement that the two had a "very candid discussion."
Merkel and Biden started their discussion later on differences over the nearly complete Russia-to-Germany gas pipeline, better known as the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
The United States has long argued that the Nord Stream 2 project will threaten European energy security by increasing the continent's reliance on Russia, with whom the U.S. locks horns. The U.S. also believed the project would allow Russia to exert political pressure on vulnerable Eastern and Central European nations, particularly Ukraine. But Biden waived sanctions against German entities involved in the project the other day, angering many in Congress.
Merkel, whose political career is coming to an end, intended to downplay the differences. But she later added that Germany is in a state of preparedness to react to Moscow, should Russia play by its own rules by not respecting Ukraine's territorial sovereignty, as well as its right to be a transit country for natural gas.
The two made no major headway in that discussion, but knowing Merkel's political career that has spanned four American presidencies in history is coming to an end, the President said he considers Merkel a friend, and will miss seeing Merkel at international summits.
But notwithstanding their personal warmth, Biden, during the joint news conference, said friends can have different opinions on that pipeline project.
"My view on Nord Stream 2 has been known for some time. Good friends can disagree. And — but by the time I became President, it was 90 percent completed. And imposing sanctions did not seem to make any sense. It made more sense to work with the Chancellor on finding out how she’d proceed based on whether or not Russia tried to, essentially, blackmail Ukraine in some way.
And so, the Chancellor and I have asked our teams to look at practical measures we could take together, and whether or not Europe energy security, Ukraine security are actually strengthened or weakened based on Russian actions. And so this is a — we’ll see. We’ll see." Said Biden.
Back in Germany, while Germans continued to suffer at the hands of the massive floods, Biden expressed his condolences to Germans whose loved ones are deceased or still unaccounted for, describing the massive flooding which has wreaked havoc in Germany as a tragedy.
"I want to express to you and to the people of Germany my sincere condolences and the condolences of the American people for the devastating loss of life and the destruction due to the flooding over the past 24 hours in Germany and neighbouring countries. It’s a tragedy, and our heart goes out — our hearts go out to the families who’ve lost loved ones." Said the President.
The two also touched upon human rights issues in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
"The situation in Hong Kong is deteriorating. And the Chinese government is not keeping its commitment that it made how it would deal with — with Hong Kong." Added Biden.
Notwithstanding Germany's strong trade ties with China, it has also been critical of Beijing's human rights record. But, having been a dovish politician, Merkel has been pondering her next move as she tends to avoid an embarrassing situation in which Germany and the European Union have to take sides between China and the U.S.
Following the discussion and the joint news conference was a dinner gathering which was attended by Merkel, her husband, as well as an array of lawmakers and the Biden's administration's officials.
This was Merkel's first visit, but also the last to the White House since Biden's inauguration in January this year. As Merkel has decided not to seek another term in September elections in Germany, there are growing concerns as to how the two nations will negotiate growing disagreements after the new German chancellor is sworn in.
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