As it became known from official sources, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin September 7 will meet in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. One of the issues that is likely to be discussed at the meeting will be the sale of submarines to Israel by ThyssenKrupp, which was frozen by the decision of the FRG authorities because of an investigation of a possible corruption component in this order.
It is assumed that Rivlin will ask the Federal Chancellor to "unfreeze" the order, relying on the importance of these submarines to ensure the security of Israel.
The issue of submarines is complicated by the general cooling of relations between the two countries, which began because of the discontent of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the actions of Foreign Minister of Germany Zigmar Gabriel, who met in April this year. With activists of the pro-Palestinian organization "Breaking Silence". In response, Netanyahu refused to receive the minister in his residence.
The last time Rivlin and Merkel discussed the purchase of submarines in May 2015, when the President of Israel expressed concern about Germany's intention to sell submarines to Egypt.