U.S., German leaders reaffirm importance of NATO

U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday agreed on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) fundamental importance to the broader transatlantic relationship.

In a telephone conversation, the two leaders also reaffirmed the military bloc's role in ensuring the peace and stability of the North Atlantic community, the White House said in a statement.

"In this vein, the leaders recognized that NATO must be capable of confronting 21st century threats and that our common defense requires appropriate investment in military capabilities to ensure all allies are contributing their fair share to our collective security," said the statement.

In a recent interview, Trump said NATO was "obsolete because it was not taking care of terror," and he complained that various members of the bloc were not paying their dues, which was "very unfair to the United States."

At a joint press conference with Trump in Washington on Friday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said the U.S. president had confirmed that he is "100 percent" behind NATO.

During Saturday's phone conversation, Trump and Merkel also affirmed the importance of close German-American cooperation to the security and prosperity of the two countries and expressed their desire to strengthen bilateral relations in the coming years.

In addition, the two leaders agreed on the need to strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism and to work to stabilize conflict areas in the Middle East and North Africa.

Trump accepted Merkel's invitation to attend the Group of 20 (G20)Summit in Hamburg, Germany, in July, and said he looks forward to receiving the chancellor in Washington soon, according to the statement. Endi