"An institution like Guantanamo can and should not exist in the longer term. Different ways and means must be found for dealing with these prisoners," Merkel told German news magazine Der Spiegel in its latest issue, published on Monday.

Merkel, 51, goes to Washington Thursday for a three-day visit to the United States -- it is her first trip to the U.S. since she was elected Germany's first female chancellor last November.

Her latest comments indicate that she will not shy away from criticism, despite her reputation as a pro-American politician. The opposition against the prison in Germany is overwhelming, spreading from virtually all politicians to the large majority of the population.

"She is trying to lose that image of being in Bush's pocket," Tim Stuchtey, head of the Berlin-based think tank Humboldt Institution on trans-Atlantic Issues, Monday told United Press International. "It's no unreasonable criticism. But many friends of good trans-Atlantic relations are disappointed in the recent U.S. record. After all it's the country that brought us freedom and democracy."

Before the September election Merkel had been friendlier with Washington, much unlike her predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder, who was known for blatant anti-U.S. rhetoric. Schroeder and U.S. Pres. Bush fell out over the Iraq war and the German-U.S. friendship had cooled down ever since. Merkel was one of the few German politicians to openly speak for the U.S.-led war, and in her campaign she had vowed to better trans-Atlantic relations.

But her first weeks in office have been clouded by the allegations that CIA planes pit-stopped in Germany on their mission to fly Islamist terror suspects to secret prisons around the world.

The case of German national Khaled el-Masri, who was mistakenly abducted and then released after the CIA found out it had the wrong man, clouded the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Berlin.

While el-Masri has been freed, Murat Kurnaz, a Turkish national who was born and raised in Germany, continues to keep Berlin and Washington on their feet. Kurnaz is detained in Guantanamo since four years (wrongly so, a U.S. judge has ruled) and his German and U.S. lawyers have urged Berlin to call upon Washington to act on his behalf.

The man's German lawyer, Bernhard Docke, told UPI the Chancellor's office last month informed him that Berlin would press U.S. officials over Kurnaz' case for "humanitarian reasons."

Merkel said she would generally talk about the fight against terrorism with Bush, whom she meets Friday at the White House, but emphasized it would not be the only topic.

"Our relationship has never been reduced to the fight against terror or the Iraq war. The German-American relations were very good for years because they transcended deeply into the daily life of the people," she said.

At the same time, Merkel accentuated that Berlin's ties with Moscow were not as strong as those with Washington.

"I don't think we share as many of the same values yet with Russia as we do with the United States."

Merkel during her days as the opposition leader criticized Schroeder for forging an overly exclusive axis with France and Russia that often alienated the rest of Europe.

Merkel's first trip to Washington as the head of Germany's government -- despite all sideline issues -- will likely be one of a friendly restart, experts say.

"Topics could be the German engagement in Afghanistan and questions of economic policy," Stuchtey said. "And there is the hope that Berlin and Washington might even move closer to a big common project to reignite fascination with politicians on both sides of the Atlantic."

Stuchtey said such an -- albeit ambitious -- project could be a free trade zone between both countries.

While growth at the moment happens in Asia, "the big chunk of imports, exports and financial capital still flows between the US and Europe, mainly with Germany," he told UPI.

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