German ministers snub Washington G7 meeting

Germany’s finance minister Olaf Scholz and foreign minister Heiko Maas have declined an invitation to take part in a Washington gathering of ministers from the G7 group of large industrial countries.

Der Spiegel magazine reported on Thursday that Germany would instead be represented by state secretaries.

The magazine said other G7 countries had taken a similar decision.

Earlier, it was reported that Chancellor Angela Merkel had declined to take part in a national leaders’ level meeting in Washington, in what was widely interpreted as a snub to the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Finance and Foreign Ministries declined to comment on the report