MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Transatlantic relations have great importance for Germany and differences over separate issues will not change the situation, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday.
“Transatlantic relations have a great importance irrespective of which specific concerns exist,” Merkel said at a joint press briefing with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The chancellor pointed out that the importance of transatlantic relations did not change the fact that the Europeans “must take their destiny in their own hands.”
On Sunday, after the NATO and G7 summits, Merkel said that Europe could no longer completely rely on its allies for security. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump expressed his wish to reshape relations with Germany to remove the massive trade deficit in bilateral trade and urge the country to spend more on its defense.