President Obama welcomes Chancellor Merkel to the White House. Great speaker that he is, he managed to crack a joke and mentioned that neither of them looks like the leader that preceded them – Merkel is the first female chancellor and Obama the first not completely white president.
During talks this morning a variety of issues were raised. And the close partnership between the two countries was affirmed: Obama said: “Our alliance at its core is a partnership between two peoples. The story of Germany and our alliance in the 20th century shows what’s possible in the 21st. Wars can end, adversaries can become allies, walls can come down. At long last, nations can be whole and can be free.”
“There’s hardly any global issue where we don’t consult one another, I trust her.”
Merkel praised America’s role in the Cold War: “When Germany and Europe were divided by the war and barbed wire, America consistently stood on the side of freedom. This we shall never forget. Europe and Germany have no better partner than America.”
Watch the press conference live 6pm EST: http://wh.gov/live