BERLIN (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold talks Thursday in Berlin with US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, her press spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said.
The US senator will be visiting France, Germany, Israel, Jordan and Britain to discuss "common challenges" with countries "critical to American national security", according to his staff.
Obama is also due to make a campaign speech in Berlin, though the venue has not yet been made public.
Merkel termed "a bit odd" a request by Obama to speak at the Brandenburg Gate, a Berlin landmark and the site of a legendary Cold War appearance by former US president Ronald Reagan.
Her spokesman said last week she had "limited understanding" for the request, adding: "It is unusual to do electioneering abroad."
Wilhelm said Friday however that a decision on where to hold the speech had been left up to Obama's team and to the Berlin municipal authorities.
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