Fresh off the visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to Washington this week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to hold talks with President Donald Trump in the United States on Friday.
Topping her agenda are last-ditch European effort to prevent a transatlantic trade war and save the Iran nuclear deal.
Merkel's working trip is expected to be far more business-like than this week's pomp-filled state visit by Macron, who has built a warm rapport with Trump despite stark policy differences.
Trump's lavish welcome for Macron with hugs, much back-slapping and a state dinner, contrasted sharply with a tense White House event in March last year in which Trump appeared to ignore Merkel's offer of a handshake.
Despite the more sober style of Merkel, who left for Washington Thursday, her objective will be the same as Macron's -- to persuade Trump to back off his dual threats of punitive measures that could spark a transatlantic trade war and scrapping the Iran nuclear deal.
Looming over the talks will be the May 12 deadline, the date by which Trump has threatened to tear up the 2015 agreement to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons in return for relief from international sanctions.
Trump has called the agreement, which Germany helped negotiate, "insane" and the "worst deal ever", demanding that its "disastrous flaws" be fixed.
The EU and other signatory world powers have sought to convince Trump not to abandon the pact, warning that it was the best defense against a regional nuclear arms race.
Macron pitched the idea of seeking a separate pact to curb Iran's ballistic missile program and support for militias in the Middle East.
The German foreign ministry has insisted that "the biggest priority is maintaining the existing nuclear accord", while Merkel has also called Iran's ballistic missile program a "cause for concern".
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Thursday said no decision had been made on whether the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.
The talks will not be helped by the rocky relations between Germany's veteran leader and the billionaire and former reality TV star in the White House.
Trump has repeatedly berated the EU's top economy for its huge trade surplus with the United States and spending too little on NATO joint defense.
Merkel routinely praises the rules-based international order to tackle global problems from conflict and terrorism to environmental destruction, in stark contrast to Trump's "America First" stance.
"Angela Merkel is on her third US president in her long tenure as chancellor of Germany," said think-tank the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
"It is no secret that she sees the current resident of the White House as a 'difficult partner'. Her return to Washington this week, by all accounts, will be a juggling act."
That should be fine with Merkel, who has little to gain back home by being overly friendly with Trump, according to German political analyst Jan Techau.
"For Merkel, it's quite important domestically not to be seen to be getting too close to Trump," said Techau, a senior fellow at think tank The German Marshall Fund of the United States.
Capping a three-day visit to the United States, Macron told a joint meeting of Congress that the 2015 Iran deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was not perfect but must remain in place until a replacement was forged.
“This agreement may not address all concerns,” Macron said. “But we should not abandon it without having something substantial and more substantial instead. That’s my position.”
Before heading home, Macron acknowledged he expected Trump to pull out of the deal, based on his long opposition to it.
“I don’t know what the American decision will be, but the rational analysis of all President Trump’s statements does not lead me to believe that he will do everything to stay in the JCPOA,” Macron said at a final news conference.
He also told a group of US reporters that if Trump pulls out, it will be “for domestic reasons.”
