STORY: :: NDR/CARENMIOSGA
:: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz downplays tensions with Trump after the U.S. announced a troop drawdown
:: Berlin, Germany/May 3, 2026
"I have to accept that the American President holds a different view on these issues than we do. But that does not alter the fact that I remain convinced that the Americans are important partners for us, the most important ones in the North Atlantic Alliance. And that we have a shared interest in Europe and America working together to end this conflict and then, for example, to end the conflict, the war in Ukraine. To provide joint security guarantees for Ukraine. We have already achieved a great deal together in this regard."
"We have a different view of this war. That is no secret. I am not alone in this. We have a common aim, and that aim must be: Iran must not be allowed to acquire the atomic bomb. And that is what we are working together to achieve."
Asked whether U.S. plans to reduce its troop presence in Germany had anything to do with a spat between the two leaders over Trump's strategy in Iran, Merz said, "Not everything we've been hearing over the last few days is actually new. It may be being exaggerated a bit, but it's nothing new."
Merz also commented on Trump's announcement to impose a 25% tariff on vehicles from the EU, to take effect as early as next week. "He's getting impatient because we reached an agreement with America last August to conclude a customs agreement. And on the European side, new conditions keep being put forward, and we haven't signed it," Merz said. It was now crucial to reach an agreement as quickly as possible, Merz added.
