German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated today that he will not give up on working with U.S. President Donald Trump, despite a public dispute between the two leaders regarding the war in the Middle East.
“I am not giving up on working on transatlantic relations, and I am also not giving up on working with Donald Trump,” Merz told the German public broadcaster ARD. In the interview, scheduled for broadcast tonight, he argued that the partial withdrawal of U.S. troops from Germany has “no connection” to his disagreements with Trump.
Read more about this topic: Iran War: Trump says Merz “doesn’t know what he is talking about” (with video)
Reflecting on his first year as head of government, Merz noted that the Pentagon’s Saturday announcement regarding the withdrawal of 5,000 U.S. soldiers over the next six to twelve months is “nothing new.” He explained that this contingent consisted of troops temporarily deployed to Germany by former President Joe Biden due to the war in Ukraine, and their departure had been under discussion for some time.
However, Merz stood by his criticism of U.S. strategy toward Iran and defended his previous assertion that the country had “humiliated” the United States. “If you want help in a conflict of this kind, you ask first,” he declared. Merz emphasized that he relayed this directly to Trump, referencing the fact that the United States did not consult Europe prior to the commencement of the war with Iran on February 28.
