President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel agreed to work together on global issues, including those related to Western Balkans.
“The leaders agreed to work together on common foreign policy priorities, including Afghanistan, China, Iran, Russia, Ukraine, and the Western Balkans,” a statement issued by the White House says.
Merkel’s spokesperson Steffen Seibert said that in her first phone call with Biden, Merkel “declared Germany’s willingness to take on responsibility in dealing with international tasks together with its European and transatlantic partners,” Deutsche Welle reports.
According to Seibert, Biden and Merkel agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic and other global challenges could only be met if countries worked together.
Merkel is the third European leader Biden has spoken with, after the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the French President Emmanuel Macron.
Merkel stated that Germany and the US now shared more common ground with Biden replacing the former US President, Donald Trump.
“There is simply a far broader scope for political consensus with President Biden,” Merkel told reporters, adding that Biden’s actions since taking office showed that he was more closely aligned with Germany.
Joe Biden was sworn in as President of the United States on January 20.
He has vowed to take steps to prevent the pandemic from spreading as well as reverse some of former President Trump’s key domestic and foreign policies.
