Despite tensions, Merkel and Pompeo underscored the "close friendship" between their two countries during the US secretary of state's visit to Berlin. Earlier, Pompeo slammed authoritarianism in Russia and China.
Image: Reuters/H. Hanschke
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo struck a conciliatory tone on Friday in Berlin, ahead of commemorations for the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
During a joint press conference, Merkel said that Germany "will never forget" the role the US played in reunification or the fact that the two countries "have become such close friends."
Pompeo echoed those remarks, saying that despite the current challenges in the world, Washington values its close ties to Berlin.
"I want everyone to know that we will continue to work on these [issues] together," Pompeo said.
The remarks came ahead of talks between the US top diplomat and the chancellor, in which the two sides discussed the conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine and Libya.
US-German ties have also been strained by Washington's imposition of punitive tariffs on the EU in retaliation for illegal subsidies granted to European aerospace giant Airbus.
Criticism of China, Russia
During a speech given near Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate, Pompeo continued in the vein of his recent criticisms of China, saying the country had suppressed people with tactics that would have been "horrifyingly familiar" to residents of former communist East Germany.
Pompeo also criticized Russia as a country that "invades its neighbors and slays political opponents."
He then called for Western unity in the face of the threat posed by "unfree nations," saying, "Let's stand together as allies."
China on Thursday reacted to Pompeo's recent rhetoric against Beijing, including his censure of the Belt and Road infrastructure project and his accusations of Chinese rights abuses in the region of Xinjiang, calling his comments "extremely dangerous."
Trans-Atlantic tiffs
Talks between Merkel and Pompeo are also likely to touch on the German-Russian gas pipeline project Nord Stream 2, which the US has strongly criticized as creating too strong an energy dependency on Russia.
Pompeo also visited the US Embassy to unveil a statue of late former US President Ronald Reagan. The statue is located near the site where Reagan gave a famous speech in 1987 calling on Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."
Pompeo has discussed security issues and trans-Atlantic relations with German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. Their meeting comes a day after Kramp-Karrenbauer called for Germany to play a much more active military role in the world.
Since World War II, Germany has previously pursued, and been held to, a policy of military restraint in reaction to the aggressive expansionism of the Nazi era.
From disparaging NATO member states to calling it "obsolete," US President Donald Trump has rarely said something positive about the decades-old military alliance. DW looks at the US president's most memorable quotes.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/J. Torres
Trump on NATO: A war of words
Even before taking office, US President Donald Trump's relationship with NATO has been a tumultuous one, to say the least. He has disparaged the trans-Atlantic alliance, once describing it as "obsolete" and a relic of the Cold War. Here are Trump's most memorable quotes about the military alliance, even if they are at times false.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/J. Torres
'Days of the Soviet Union'
While on the campaign trail in 2016, Trump made clear that he saw NATO as a relic of the Cold War. "You know, we're dealing with NATO from the days of the Soviet Union, which no longer exists. We need to either transition into terror or we need something else." But his remarks didn't account for how the alliance backed the US well after the collapse of the Soviet Union, especially in Afghanistan.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Kulbis
'Germany owes vast sums'
Trump has made defense spending his main talking point on NATO. But he has falsely accused member states of owing money to Washington, saying: "Germany owes vast sums of money to NATO, and the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany." The problem is NATO doesn't work like that. No money is owed to the alliance for defense or otherwise.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
'Obsolete'
Days before his inauguration, Trump caught NATO members off guard when he claimed the alliance was "obsolete" and threatened to withdraw support. "I said a long time ago that NATO had problems: Number one, it was obsolete, because it was designed many, many years ago." Months later, he retracted his statement, citing changes within the alliance. "Now they fight terrorism," he said.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/T. Stavrakis
'Doesn't sound very smart'
Trump had tended to lump trade between US allies with how much Washington spends on defense. "We are spending a fortune on military in order to lose $800 billion (in trade losses). That doesn't sound very smart to me," Trump said. The problem is that while NATO members have agreed to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense, the alliance has nothing to do with international trade.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/E. Vucci
'We are the schmucks'
During a 2018 rally in Montana, Trump hit out at European allies, saying: "They want (us) to protect against Russia, and yet they pay billions of dollars to Russia, and we're the schmucks paying for the whole thing." Trump was referring to Russia as Europe's primary source for oil and natural gas, but he created a false dichotomy between energy reliance and NATO's defense spending goal.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/V. Kryeziu
'Congratulations, you're in World War III'
In an interview with Fox News, Trump was asked why the US should jump to the defense of NATO ally Montenegro if it was attacked. The president said he asked himself the same question, a remark that appeared to undermine the alliance's collective defense clause. Trump went on to describe Montenegrins as "very strong" and "very aggressive," and that that aggression risked starting World War III.
