MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The US administration's policies harm the interests of the European Union and put international security at risk, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Monday.
"The short-sighted policies of the American government stand against the interests of the European Union," Gabriel said as quoted by CNN.
The German politician added that the West had become smaller and weaker due to the United States' policies.
"Anyone who accelerates climate change by weakening environmental protection, who sells more weapons in conflict zones and who does not want to politically resolve religious conflicts is putting peace at risk," Gabriel added.
On Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the times when the Europeans could rely on their allies were over. Merkel called on the Europeans to "take out fate into [their] own hands" but continue friendship with the United States and the United Kingdom. The chancellor added that the cooperation should be pursued "as good neighbors" with Russia and other countries.
The issue of the United States' participation in the Paris Agreement has been repeatedly raised by Trump during his presidential campaign in 2016, when he expressed his readiness to withdraw from the international climate accord. On Saturday, Trump wrote on Twitter that he would make the final decision on the US participation in the climate deal "next week."
The Paris climate deal, created within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and championed by former US President Barack Obama, was signed in 2015 by 194 countries and ratified by 143. The agreement aims at keeping the increase in average global temperature at below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. To this end, all the signatory states agreed to reduce or limit their greenhouse gas emissions.
