Germany's Merz says had 'good phone call' with Trump

BERLIN: Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday he had “a good phone call” with US President Donald Trump, following a rift that saw Trump announce the withdrawal of 5,000 US troops from Germany.

“I had a good phone call with @POTUS (US President) Donald Trump on his way back from China,” Merz wrote on X, adding that they agreed “the US and Germany are strong partners in a strong NATO”.

Trump announced the troop withdrawal two weeks ago, days after Merz said that Iran was “humiliating” Washington at the negotiating table. Trump also fired angry broadsides at the German leader.

“The Chancellor of Germany should spend more time on ending the war with Russia/Ukraine (Where he has been totally ineffective!), and fixing his broken Country, especially Immigration and Energy,” Trump said at the time on his Truth Social network.

He also said Merz should spend “less time on interfering with those that are getting rid of the Iran Nuclear threat, thereby making the World, including Germany, a safer place!”

Merz’s message on Friday suggested that they had put the rift behind them and broadly agreed on Washington’s goals in the US-Israel conflict with Iran.

Merz wrote that “we agree: Iran must come to the negotiating table now. It must open the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons.

“We also discussed a peaceful solution for Ukraine and coordinated our positions ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara” on July 7-8, Merz added on X.

Germany, the top EU economy and biggest military supporter of Ukraine, has under Merz embarked on a major armed forces build-up to counter the perceived threat from Russia and to make European defence less dependent on the United States.