Merkel measured over meeting

BERLIN – US presidential hopeful Barack Obama discussed global hotspots yesterday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of a foreign policy speech in the heart of Berlin late yesterday.

Obama, who arrived from Israel, joined Merkel at her ultra-modern chancellery at the start of a European tour aimed at burnishing his foreign policy credentials. The Illinois senator also saw Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit before the speech.The presumptive Democratic candidate wants the United States and Europe to rediscover their common ground, he told reporters travelling with him.”Obviously Berlin is representative of the extraordinary success of the post World War II effort to bring the continent together and to bring the West together, and later to bring the East and the West together,” he said.”So I think it is a natural place to talk.”Obama and the chancellor touched on Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East peace process as well as climate protection and the global economic crisis in an hour-long conversation, according to Merkel’s spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm.Obama earlier defended himself against claims he is defying convention by electioneering abroad, saying he wanted to speak to the whole of Europe and so needed a big venue.Europeans are looking to Obama to improve the transatlantic relationship that conservative leaders such as Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have only just managed to mend.But commentators warned that Obama would expect more of the continent if elected, including a stronger military commitment in Afghanistan, where he started his tour on Saturday.”More international co-ordination means more European engagement in hotspots,” the Handelsblatt business daily wrote.Merkel said on Wednesday that Germany had no plans to commit more troops to fight the Taliban.The chancellor also brushed aside a flap over her objection to Obama’s initial wish to speak at the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of German unity, saying she took the “perhaps a bit old-fashioned” view that the landmark should be reserved for presidents in office.Obama was to instead speak at the Victory Column, a 19th century monument to the defeats of France, Austria and Denmark in successive wars and more recently, a venue for the wildly popular Love Parade techno parties.The senator will continue on to Paris to meet Sarkozy on Friday, followed by a meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London Saturday.Nampa-AFPThe Illinois senator also saw Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit before the speech.The presumptive Democratic candidate wants the United States and Europe to rediscover their common ground, he told reporters travelling with him.”Obviously Berlin is representative of the extraordinary success of the post World War II effort to bring the continent together and to bring the West together, and later to bring the East and the West together,” he said.”So I think it is a natural place to talk.”Obama and the chancellor touched on Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East peace process as well as climate protection and the global economic crisis in an hour-long conversation, according to Merkel’s spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm.Obama earlier defended himself against claims he is defying convention by electioneering abroad, saying he wanted to speak to the whole of Europe and so needed a big venue.Europeans are looking to Obama to improve the transatlantic relationship that conservative leaders such as Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have only just managed to mend.But commentators warned that Obama would expect more of the continent if elected, including a stronger military commitment in Afghanistan, where he started his tour on Saturday.”More international co-ordination means more European engagement in hotspots,” the Handelsblatt business daily wrote.Merkel said on Wednesday that Germany had no plans to commit more troops to fight the Taliban.The chancellor also brushed aside a flap over her objection to Obama’s initial wish to speak at the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of German unity, saying she took the “perhaps a bit old-fashioned” view that the landmark should be reserved for presidents in office.Obama was to instead speak at the Victory Column, a 19th century monument to the defeats of France, Austria and Denmark in successive wars and more recently, a venue for the wildly popular Love Parade techno parties.The senator will continue on to Paris to meet Sarkozy on Friday, followed by a meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London Saturday.Nampa-AFP