Angela Merkel ‘cannot Confirm’ G7 Attendance in US Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Posted on the 30 May 2020 by Thiruvenkatam Chinnagounder @tipsclear

"The chancellor thanks President Trump for his invitation to the G7 summit in Washington in late June," said Merkel's spokesperson in a statement.

"To date, given the global pandemic situation, she cannot confirm her personal participation, that is to say a trip to Washington," added the spokesman.

Meanwhile, German Minister of Health Jens Spahn expressed "disappointment" with the US withdrawal from the World Health Organization, saying the Trump administration's decision was a "setback." "for international health policy.

Other world leaders have also been wary of the Trump-sponsored G7 summit.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday that he could not yet make a commitment to attend the proposed G7 meeting in person due to concerns about the transmission of the virus and Canada's quarantine rules.

"There are important health concerns that we have around keeping it in person, but there is no doubt that a face-to-face meeting in an ideal situation is much more effective than even virtual meetings," he said. he says.

"However, there are many questions we need to answer before we commit to appearing in person and these discussions are ongoing and very constructive."

French President Emmanuel Macron met with Trump on Thursday. The two leaders "agreed on the importance of convening the G7 in person in the near future," according to a White House reading of the appeal. But the White House did not say whether Macron had committed to attend in person.

Trump first raised the idea of ​​relaunching the summit as an in-person event in a tweet on May 20, saying it would mean to the world that things are back to normal after the coronavirus pandemic broke down. travel and froze the global economy.

"It seems that the G7 is activated because we have done well, we are ahead of our country's calendar and some other countries are doing very well," he said the next day on the south lawn. "It looks like the G7 will be activated, a full G7, and we will be announcing something early next week."

Instead of Camp David, Trump suggested that it would "probably" happen in the White House "but perhaps a small combination at Camp David, but mainly in the White House."

US national security adviser Robert O'Brien told reporters at the time that he was on the phone with "a number" of his counterparts in Europe and that "everyone wants to come to Washington".

"I can tell you that countries around the world are trying to open up," said O'Brien. "All the leaders are looking forward to coming to the White House if we can make it work."

The G7 includes the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Japan. Trump has considered allowing Russia to join the group, but has met with fierce resistance from fellow leaders.

CNN's Paula Newton, Kevin Liptak and Nikki Carvajal contributed to this report.

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