dpa
(TNS)
Paris (dpa) — Freshly appointed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he is planning to quickly begin talks with France and Britain on how to organize Europe’s nuclear deterrence in the future.
“I see the fundamental need for us to discuss with France and also with the UK the question of how we can continue to provide such a response of deterrence together in future,” Merz said during his inaugural visit to Paris on Wednesday.
Merz stressed he envisioned a supplement to the US nuclear defence umbrella, not “a substitute.”
The conservative chancellor, who took office on Tuesday, said he and French President Emmanuel Macron as well as their foreign and defence ministers would meet in the coming months to discuss defence and security issues including nuclear deterrence.
Merz headed to Paris to meet with Macron 17 hours after taking the helm in Berlin, after needing two unprecedented attempts to be elected chancellor by parliament.
Both he and the French president have vowed to revitalize Franco-German ties to be able to provide better leadership in Europe in the light of the foreign policy U-turn under the Trump administration.
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