2024-04-25 00:13:52
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrives in Berlin for his first official visit to Germany in the 18 months since he has been in power, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
The main subject of the planned talks with his German counterpart, Olaf Scholz, will be military aid to Ukraine and the war in Gaza. The question of Britain’s controversial pact with Rwanda for the relocation of asylum seekers, which was approved yesterday by Parliament in London, is also likely to be discussed.
Although Britain has not been a member of the EU for more than four years, it remains one of Germany’s most important allies in NATO, the G7 and the G20, notes DPA. Along with Berlin, London is one of the main European arms suppliers to Ukraine and has just pledged to provide Kiev with significant new military aid.
In the Middle East, the British Air Force, unlike Germany, has recently been involved in the defense against a major Iranian attack on Israel.
Britain’s pact with Rwanda for asylum seekers has drawn much attention and criticism in the federal republic. It envisages that migrants arriving in Britain without regular documents could be immediately deported to the East African country and wait there while their asylum claims are processed.
In Germany, some opposition voices were also heard, calling for the processing of migrants’ applications for international protection in the federal republic to take place in countries outside the EU.