German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Washington for talks with US President Barack Obama expected to be dominated by the conflict in Ukraine.
Merkel is sure to express her opposition to calls in Washington for the United States to begin arming the Ukrainian military in their fight against pro-Russian separatists in the east.
"I am convinced that this conflict won't be solved by military means," she told a security conference in Munich at the weekend.
Obama and Merkel will hold joint press conference after their meeting in the Oval Office followed by a working lunch, the White House announced late Sunday.
Her visit comes ahead of a Ukraine crisis summit planned for Wednesday in Minsk, Belarus, where a new peace plan being pushed by French President Francois Hollande and Merkel will be considered.
In addition to Ukraine and Russia, the US and German leaders will discuss counterterrorism, the IS group, Afghanistan and Iran, the White House statement said. The talks will also cover economic growth, international trade, climate change and Germany's plans for hosting the G-7 Summit in June.
After meeting with Obama, Merkel will fly later Monday to Ottawa to hold talks with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
The two-day trip to the United States and Canada had been scheduled in order to prepare the ground for Germany's year-long presidency of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations.
Merkel is hosting a G7 summit on June 7-8 at Schloss Elmau, a century-old luxury hotel 100 kilometers south of Munich.