German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he must accept that President Donald Trump does not share his opinions in order to work with the United States within NATO, but stressed there was no link between their rift and a planned troop drawdown.
Merz dismissed suggestions that his criticism of US war planning in Iran had sparked Washington’s Friday announcement that the US would reduce its military presence in Germany, its largest European base, by 5,000 soldiers, and repeated his commitment to the transatlantic alliance.
