Barack Obama on G7 unity mission as US president looks to repair German ties

US president will aim to tackle anti-American sentiment sparked by US spying controversies and negotiate pacts on teBarack Obama will aim to show unity on global challenges with western allies, especially with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, during a trip to the country amid enduring anti-Americanism there over US spying programs.

Obama and Merkel plan to open his visit with a public display of friendliness, delivering remarks about the US-German alliance before taking a walk through the picturesque alpine village of Krün to sample the Bavarian food and sights. Then the two plan to meet privately at the nearby site of the two-day summit of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations to coordinate their agenda before joining the leaders of Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Japan.

A response to Russia on the heels of violent clashes in eastern Ukraine is expected to dominate talks at the G7 meeting at the Schloss Elmau resort, a year after Russian president Vladimir Putin was ousted for his aggressive moves on the former Soviet state and Merkel took over as chairwoman of the group. Also high on the agenda are the global economy, terrorism and trade as Obama negotiates separate pacts across the Pacific and Atlantic.

Obama is closer to Merkel than most heads of state, although their relationship has been tested in the past couple of years, particularly after it emerged that the National Security Agency had tapped Merkel’s mobile phone.

The spying controversy has grown in recent weeks amid reports that Germany’s own Federal Intelligence Agency, better known by its German acronym BND, may have helped the US spy on European companies and officials as long ago as 2008. vrrorism and global tradeGermans also will be looking to future US relations beyond Obama’s presidency, with 2016 presidential hopeful Jeb Bush planning to kick off a six-day European trip with a speech in Berlin on Tuesday to the economic council of the Christian Democratic Union, the conservative party led by Merkel.

In their last meeting, in February at the White House, Obama called Merkel “my close friend and partner” and Merkel addressed him as “dear Barack”. Tensions over the spying programs have been acknowledged and they are still working to overcome them. “There are still different assessments on individual issues there, but if we look at the sheer dimension of the terrorist threat, we are more than aware of the fact that we need to work together very closely,” Merkel said.

Obama said there “was no doubt” the spying revelations damaged impressions of the US in Germany and that he had been trying to restore confidence. “Occasionally I would like the German people to give us the benefit of the doubt, given our history, as opposed to assuming the worst,” he said.