This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by David Herszenhorn and Jakob Hanke on politico.com on June 28, 2019. US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to focus on the world’s problems, perhaps as a way of limiting discussion on their own tensions. In a meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Trump and Merkel centred their comments on problems in other nations: Libya and the Sahel region of Africa, eastern Ukraine and Iran. They also addressed the trade issues between the EU and the US. According to the White House, Trump and Merkel discussed “a wide range of issues, including Iran’s dangerous activity in the Middle East”. According to Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, that part of the conversation was on “ the US conflict with Iran ”. The differences in the readouts between the White House’s version and the German chancellery’s hinted at the deep, ongoing stress in US-German dealings. The relationship has soured significantly since Trump took office and began relentlessly bashing Berlin over military spending and what he believes is an unfair trade imbalance. Trump has also slammed Germany over its support for construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which he contends will only increase European dependence on Russian natural gas. But when he spoke to reporters after their meeting, Trump seemed to minimise any conflict and praised Merkel with his usual over-the-top exaggeration, calling her “a great friend of mine”. “She’s a fantastic person, a fantastic woman, and I’m glad to have her as a friend,” Trump said. In reply, Merkel thanked Trump and noted that “German companies are investing a lot” in the United States. The US president also veered totally off topic and noted that he had watched some of the debate between Democratic presidential candidates , but that “it wasn’t very exciting”. Trump accused the Democrats of wanting to give “maximum health care” to illegal immigrants. “Unfortunately, they didn’t discuss what they’re giving to American citizens,” he said. https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/28/trump-merkel-present-friendly-front-despite-simmering-tensions-1562046