Germany’s Baerbock meets US counterpart Blinken ahead of G7 talks

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (L) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meet during the German-American Future Forum on the sidelines of the meeting of the foreign ministers of the G7 countries. Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock held talks with her US counterpart Antony Blinken in the western German city of Münster on Thursday, hours before a meeting of all G7 foreign ministers was set to begin.

No details of their talks were immediately available, although they likely discussed a range of issues on the agenda for the G7 meeting, including events in Ukraine.

The first day of the two-day meeting is expected to focus on aid for Ukraine, given Russia’s recent attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure.

Besides the United States and Germany, the Group of Seven (G7) leading economies also includes Britain, Canada, France, Italy and Japan. Germany holds this year’s rotating presidency.

Following their bilateral talks, Baerbock and Blinken planned to participate in a podium discussion on the future of democracy in a digital world. Topics are to include how to handle Russia’s deliberate use of fake news and disinformation.

The discussion is hosted by the German-American future forum, launched in July last year by US President Joe Biden and Germany’s chancellor at the time, Angela Merkel.

 

 

Courtesy © dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH www.dpa.com