Germany: Details of Obama visit being handled

German Chancellor Merkel uneasy about possible site for speech

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updated 11:03 a.m. ET July 11, 2008

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has a message for presidential hopeful Barack Obama: We can work it out.

Merkel had signaled unease over a possible Obama speech at Berlin's historic Brandenburg Gate. A Merkel spokesman, Ulrich Wilhelm, said Friday that while details had not yet been worked out, "we are confident that we will reach a mutual and good solution which does justice to the interests of all involved."

While Berlin city officials had said they were delighted with the idea, Merkel questioned whether it's appropriate to bring a foreign election campaign to a site that symbolizes Germany's Cold War division and its reunification.

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City officials have said they have been contacted by Obama's Democratic campaign staff about a visit. The Obama campaign has refused to provide specifics on his European trip.

The Brandenburg Gate, which once stood behind the Berlin Wall, was the backdrop for a 1987 speech in which President Reagan urged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."

On Wednesday, Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the candidate had considered several sites for a possible speech and would "choose one that makes most sense for him and his German hosts."

Not all German politicians agreed with Merkel. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was quoted by the Frankfurter Rundschau daily as saying he hopes the flap does not "create an inaccurate or repellent impression" in the United States.

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