German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde here Tuesday on the unfolding eurozone sovereign debt crisis, Merkel's spokesman said Monday.

Spokesman Steffen Seibert said the meeting would be an informal exchange of views followed by a news conference.

The meeting is among the flurry of diplomatic activities in the new year aimed at getting to grips with the debt crisis that is returning with a vengeance as a slew of disappointing economic data suggested the 17-member eurozone was heading for recession.

Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy met here on Monday to prepare for a key EU summit on Jan. 30.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti met Sarkozy in Paris last week and will talk with Merkel on Wednesday. Monti will also host Merkel and Sarkozy in Rome on Jan. 20, ahead of a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels three days later.