The German foreign minister has joined a number of anxious Western politicians in offering advice to Donald Trump ahead of the US president's summit with Vladimir Putin, warning him against making "unilateral deals" with Russia.

"Unilateral deals at the expense of allies will harm the United States, too. The one who hits his partners risks losing eventually," Heiko Maas told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag in an interview released on Sunday.

However, the German foreign minister did acknowledge that the high-level talks between the US and Russia is a good sign, adding that the meeting can be "a step forward towards" nuclear disarmament.

Maas has recently accused the US leader of putting the entire architecture of European security at risk. On Saturday, he censured Trump, saying that the increased defense spending championed by the president during a recent NATO summit would not make the world any safer. Maas insisted that more weapons do not automatically mean more security, adding that Trump's demands "have nothing to do with serious security policy."

All eyes now are on the much-anticipated summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, which is scheduled for Monday in Helsinki on the final leg of Trump's European tour. A number of German politicians have long feared that the US president could take actions that are not in line with NATO.


The transatlantic coordinator for Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition, Peter Beyer, said "there are great concerns in the alliance about what agreements Trump and Putin could reach" during the summit.

Christian Lindner, the head of Germany's Free Democrats, echoed Beyer's concerns, saying that he did not trust Trump, and that his actions in the areas of trade and security were not in Washington's long-term interest.

The UK establishment also fears that Trump will undermine NATO by striking a "peace deal" with Putin during the meeting. The politicians worry that the Russian president could persuade Trump to downgrade US military commitments in Europe, thus compromising NATO countries' defense against so-called "Russian aggression."

In the meantime, Alexander Bartosh, a former Russian diplomat and military expert, told RT that the meeting between the two leaders will merely include trying to find a "unifying agenda for the US and Russia because the relations of the two countries affect not only their own wellbeing, but international security as a whole." "None of the sides will be aiming to undermine the integrity of NATO," he added.

Trump has repeatedly called his Russian counterpart a "competitor," suggesting that Putin may become a friend over time. The US president insists that he doesn't believe his counterpart's policies are a threat to the US or Europe.

Moscow has noted that the goal of the meeting is to finally start changing the negative situation in relations between the US and Russia for the better. When asked what the Kremlin thinks about Donald Trump calling Vladimir Putin a 'competitor,' Yury Ushakov, the Russian president's adviser, said that Moscow considers the US president to be a 'partner.'

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of the Israeli capital in protest against the so-called nation-state bill, which, they say, would enable ethnic segregation. The controversial bill also drew criticism from US Jews.

Demonstrators marched through the streets of Tel Aviv chanting: "Full equality and no less," "Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies" and "The nation bill is a disaster," according to witnesses.

"The Nation-State Law would turn racism, discrimination, and segregation into an inescapable part of our lives. More than that - racism and discrimination are becoming desired and central in the State of Israel. The Nation-State Law will bring exclusion and damage to minorities to terrifying levels we have never seen before. Our stance is clear: all citizens -all- are equal," the organizers of the rally stated, as cited by the Jerusalem Post.


Between 2,500 and 7,000 people took part in the rally, according to various Israeli media reports. The demonstration was organized by a wide range of NGOs, rights groups and at least four Israeli political parties. The march was reportedly led by some members of the Knesset - the Israeli parliament.


The bill in question, which is currently being debated in the Knesset and is expected to come to a final vote on Monday, declares Israel the nation-state of the Jewish people. Opponents of the controversial legislation say it would prioritize Jewish values over democratic ones and effectively endanger the rights of Israeli Arab citizens as well as even secular Israelis.


One of the most controversial clauses of the new bill envisages the establishment of settlements or communities that are segregated by religion or nationality. "The state may allow a community, including members of one religion or of one nationality, to maintain a separate communal settlement," the provision says, according to the Jerusalem Post. This particular clause even drew criticism from Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, however, actively supports the legislation.

"The law of division and discrimination that this government is promoting - which they call the Nation-State Bill - will leave a great many of us out; out of towns with "admission committees; out of fair treatment in the courts; out of citizenship; out of democracy. To this, we will not agree," the groups participating in the rally said in a statement.


The controversial bill also drew criticism from abroad, particularly from US Jews: 14 American Jewish organizations expressed their concerns over the legislation to the incoming Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog, who is also the opposition leader in the Knesset.

Some of these groups, such as the New Israel Fund, also took part in Saturday's rally. "This is tribalism at its worst," the New Israel Fund CEO Daniel Sokatch told Haaretz. "Beginning with Israel's Declaration of Independence, the Jewish value of human dignity and the principle of the equality of all people have formed the democratic foundation of the state. This law is completely incompatible with those values," he added.

Meanwhile, if adopted, the nation-state law would acquire the status of a "basic" law, which gives it a power equal to the constitution (even though Israel does not have a written one). "If racism, sexism, and religious fundamentalism are to be protected in Israel's basic laws, it should be no surprise when the country embodies those values. This bill and the government that supported it are a danger to Israel's future," Sokatch, who even wrote a piece on the issue for the San Diego Jewish World media outlet, warned.

Others were seemingly also concerned over Israel's international reputation. Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, particularly warned that adoption of the bill would "make Israel an open target on the world stage for all those who seek to deny the Jewish people our right to a homeland."

The news comes just days after the Irish Senate, the upper house of parliament, supported a bill that makes it illegal to import goods produced in the illegal Israeli settlements built on the Occupied Territories in the West Bank. The move prompted the Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman to call for Israel's embassy in Ireland to be closed "immediately."