Obama to meet with Rajoy in Washington next month
Visit was pre-arranged between Washington and Madrid advisors at Mandela's funeral
Barack Obama will greet Mariano Rajoy at the White House on January 13, sources at La Moncloa prime ministerial palace have confirmed. The meeting was put in both leaders’ diaries after the pair coincided at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service this week, with their respective teams of assistants hammering out the dates during a telephone conference call on Thursday.
Rajoy has been keen to appear alongside Obama in the White House Rose Garden since he took office two years ago but for various reasons — not least the US leader’s packed schedule — a date had never been forthcoming. Rajoy is due to attend a Spain-Turkey Summit on January 14 and, if feasible, he will honor both engagements.
