German Chancellor Friedrich Merz addressed the state of bilateral relations with the US on Sunday, downplaying tensions after a public clash with President Donald Trump over the war in Iran.

In an interview with German broadcaster ARD, Merz said Trump's announcement to pull 5,000 US troops from bases in Germany was not surprising and should not be seen as retaliation, adding that it had "no connection" with recent disagreements.

"I am not giving up on working on the transatlantic relationship," Merz told ARD. "Nor am I giving up on working with Donald Trump."

Trump had singled out Merz for saying that Tehran was "humiliating" Washington at the negotiating table. Trump accused Merz of "thinking it is okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon" and commented that Germany was doing "so poorly, both economically and otherwise."

Merz insisted he still shared Trump's goal of ensuring Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon. "We have a different view of this war. That's no secret," he said, but added that the US remains Germany's most important partner in NATO.

The chancellor also confirmed that a planned deployment of US long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Germany would be called off. "As I see it at the moment, objectively speaking, there is hardly any possibility of the US supplying weapons systems of this kind," Merz said, citing insufficient US stockpiles.

Source: www.dw.com