'A new chapter:' Merkel aims for UK-Germany relations reset

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is likely to push Angela Merkel to drop her efforts to impose COVID-19 restrictions on British travelers as the German chancellor makes her final visit to Britain before stepping down in the coming months

LONDON -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel made her final visit to Britain on Friday before she steps down later this year, laying out her hope that relations between the two countries can be reset following years of Brexit-related tensions. In her 22nd visit to the U.K. since she became chancellor 16 years ago, Merkel sought to downplay the tensions that clearly arose after British voters decided in June 2016 to leave the European Union. She even expressed interest in a new treaty between the two countries to cement the new relationship. “It is, now that Britain has left the European Union, a good opportunity to open a new chapter in our relationship,” she told a joint press conference alongside her host, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, after they dined on English asparagus and Oxfordshire beef during a working lunch. “We would be very happy on the German side to work together on a friendship treaty or a cooperation treaty, which would reflect the whole breadth of relations," she added.