- President Trump congratulated Angela Merkel after winning a fourth term
- Merkel secured victory on Sunday, Trump contacted her on Thursday
- The German Chancellor won in an election that saw a far-right party make gains
- Trump and Merkel discussed the Iranian nuclear deal as well as North Korea
President Donald Trump congratulated German Chancellor Angela Merkel four days after her election success of Sunday, in which she won a fourth term for her party.
Mrs Merkel’s conservative bloc finished first in Germany’s election although the right-wing nationalist AfD party struck a blow.
Four days after Mrs Merkel’s election win, the White House said Trump wished Merkel well on forming a new government, stressing the importance of the alliance between the two nations during the phonecall.
President Donald Trump has congratulated German Chancellor Angela Merkel on winning a fourth term following a close election result
In a readout of the conversation between the two which took place on Thursday, Trump iterated his: ‘Commitment to our longstanding, strong alliance with the German government and the German people.’
The White House says Trump and Merkel also discussed Iran’s activities in the Middle East, its missile program and the nuclear deal that Trump has criticized as one of the worst the US has ever negotiated.
Trump is facing an October 15 deadline to certify that Iran is in compliance with the agreement. He recently said he had reached a decision, but declined to say what it was.
In a readout of the conversation between the two, Trump iterated his: ‘Commitment to our longstanding, strong alliance with the German government and the German people.’
The president had mulled over whether he would remove the US from the deal which was negotiated during the Obama administration.
However, European counterparts have expressed support for the deal, including Merkel’s own party.
Trump and Merkel also discussed the goal of ridding the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons.
Merkel sent Trump a congratulations on November 9 of last year, a day after he won the presidency.