A day after meeting with Angela Merkel, President Donald Trump declared the German chancellor’s country owes the U.S. money.
Trump issued a pair of tweets on Saturday morning which said his meeting with Merkel went “GREAT” but “Germany owes vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!”
On Friday the two G7 leaders met for the first time in Washington.
Merkel began her remarks at the news conference Friday by saying it was better to speak to each other than about each other.
“We held a conversation where we were trying to address also those areas where we disagree, but we tried to bring people together … (and) tried to find a compromise that is good for both sides,” Merkel said.
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Near the start of the news conference, Trump pressed Merkel for Germany to meet NATO’s military spending target, and Merkel reiterated her country’s commitment to a two per cent military spending goal.
“I reiterated to Chancellor Merkel my strong support for NATO as well as the need for our NATO allies to pay their fair share for the cost of defense. Many nations owe vast sums of money from past years, and it is very unfair to the United States. These nations must pay what they owe.”
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Shortly thereafter, a member of the German press asked Trump if he ever regretted any of his tweets.
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“Very seldom,” he responded.
The meetings at the White House included discussions on strengthening NATO, fighting the Islamic State group, the conflict in Afghanistan and resolving Ukraine’s conflict, all matters that require close co-operation between the U.S. and Germany.
With files from Associated Press/Reuters