Tough challenges for a troubled friendship

Over the years, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has addressed Congress and been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on her US visits. This time, however, her visit is overshadowed by crises, and she faces an ally that has become a stranger.

NSA spying and the crisis in Ukraine are exacting issues for both countries. The Ukraine issue in particular has the potential to push Germany and the US further apart, according to Nile Gardiner from the Heritage Foundation think tank: "There's a big divide between Berlin and Washington with regard to how to treat the Russian problem."

Germany and a number of European countries have been pursuing "a policy of appeasement towards Russia and that's largely due to the economic dependence in terms of energy supply," the Europe expert told DW.

Karen Donfried, the new head of the German Marshall Fund transatlantic organization, however, points out that German-US coordination has been very good so far. "Europe has important trade and energy ties with Russia, but even so, they, too, want to put pressure on Russia," the former top advisor on Europe to President Obama says.

Stand united

"It's very important that Putin notices this solidarity." Donfried says.

Karen Donfried served as a special asisstant to President Obama

The Ukraine crisis is at the very top of Angela Merkel's agenda in Washington. The German Chancellor is not only bound to encounter completely different assessments and expectations of Europe and Germany, but also a president who is under considerable domestic pressure to toughen his stance on Russia.

"This meeting is incredibly timely and important," says Heather Conley of the Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The two leaders are meeting "at a time when the West's policy toward Russia has come to a dramatic end and a new policy needs to be rebuilt," the think tank's expert on Germany says. "Germany's role in shaping that new policy is going to be critical for its success."

Reluctant Europeans

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Tough challenges for a troubled friendship