BERLIN, May 30 (Xinhua) -- German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Tuesday tried to smooth things over the recent verbal battle between Germany and United States.
Gabriel admitted in a press meeting that "it's true that we have a difficult situation in relations between Germany and U.S," but he believed "we will come back to good relations in the future."
After a unsatisfactory G7 summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday made a campaign speech in a Bavarian beer tent, grumbling Europe's alignment with the U.S. and Britain.
She said following the election of the U.S President Donald Trump and Brexit, Europeans "really have to take destiny into their own hands."
Some of the G7 agendas were especially tough for Merkel, among them was the rise of protectionism and the discussion about the climate pact Paris Accord, which Trump refused to endorse.
However, Trump blasted back against Merkel on Tuesday, tweeting Americans "have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO&military. Very Bad for U.S., this will change."
He renewed his allegation earlier at NATO summit that Germany doesn't pay its full -- 2 percent of GDP share toward defense, a requirement of NATO membership.
Their exchange of words have sparked a media buzz. Some analysts dubbed their remarks as "a turning point" of German-US relationship, saying Merkel clearly wants to distance Germany from U.S government led by president Trump. Some even also suggested Germany should make "new friends" instead of the traditional ones.
Yet Gabriel tried to play down the spat, noting it as "trivialized things", while saying it is "inappropriate" for the two nations to communicate with each other between a beer tent and Twitter.
The White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday also attempted to calm the waters, saying Merkel and Trump "get along very well."
"He has a lot of respect for her," Spicer said.
