German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his meeting with President Donald Trump had convinced him that the US administration was open to discussing key issues.
Mr. Merz described his Oval Office meeting and extended lunch with Mr. Trump on Thursday as constructive but also frank, noting that the two leaders expressed different views on Ukraine.
He said: “Yesterday, in the Oval Office, I expressed a completely different position on Ukraine than Trump took, and not only was there no objection, but we discussed it again at length over lunch.”
The meeting at the White House marked the first time the two leaders met in person.
Mr Merz, who became chancellor in May, has avoided the Oval Office confrontations that have stumbled other world leaders, including Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.
The German chancellor presented Mr. Trump with a gold-mounted birth certificate from the president's grandfather, Friedrich Trump, who emigrated from Kallstadt, Germany.
Mr Trump called Mr Merz “a very pleasant person to deal with.”
According to Mr. Merz, the American administration is open to discussions, listens and is ready to accept different opinions.
He added: “Let's stop talking about Donald Trump with a raised finger and a wrinkled nose. You need to talk to him, not about him.”
Mr Merz said he also met with senators on Capitol Hill, urging them to acknowledge the scale of Russia's rearmament.
“Please look at how far Russia's armament has gone, what they are doing there now; you obviously have no idea what is going on,” he told them.
“In short, you can talk to them, but you shouldn't let yourself be intimidated. I don't have that inclination anyway.”
Mr Merz, a fluent English speaker, stressed the need for transatlantic trust and reminded Mr Trump that allies matter.
“Whether we like it or not, we will remain dependent on the United States of America for a long time to come,” he said.
“But you also need partners in the world, and the Europeans, especially the Germans, are the most suitable partners.
“That's the difference between authoritarian systems and democracies: Authoritarian systems have subordinates. Democracies have partners – and we want to be those partners in Europe and with America.”
He reiterated that the United States remains committed to NATO, especially as Germany and other countries increase their defense spending.
Mr Trump has previously said the US could abandon its commitments to the alliance if member countries fail to meet defence spending targets.
Mr Merz said: “I have no doubt that the American government is committed to NATO, especially now that we have all said we are doing more.
“We guarantee that we will be able to defend ourselves in Europe as well, and I believe that these expectations were justified.”
“We've been enjoying American security guarantees for free for years, and now we're changing that.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
