Merz says he wants to meet Trump in Davos, 'avoid escalation' on trade

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would try to meet Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday and seek to deescalate trade tensions sparked by the US leader's tariff treat over Greenland, Report informs via AFP.

Merz, speaking Monday, said that Germany and other European countries agreed "that we want to avoid any escalation in this dispute if at all possible".

"We simply want to try to resolve this problem together, and the American government knows that we could also retaliate. I don't want to, but if necessary, we will of course protect our European interests as well as our German national interests."