Oliver Towfigh Nia
18 September 2026•Update: 18 September 2026
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz held a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Thursday, discussing the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
“The chancellor and the president discussed next steps toward ending the war in Ukraine. Chancellor Merz commended Congress for passing the Graham Sanctions Act,” government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said in a statement.
“The situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea was also a topic of discussion. There was agreement that both waterways need to be reopened quickly,” he added.
Merz and Trump also recalled the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the US, the 25th anniversary of which was marked last week. The chancellor emphasized the special bond between Germans and Americans.
The phone call had actually been scheduled for last week to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. However, the German government canceled the call without giving a reason and rescheduled it.
Just before that, Trump had praised the electoral success of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The German government reacted angrily to the US president’s remarks.
“We Germans decide for ourselves how we deal with migration, and also who we vote for. We don’t need advice from the White House on this,” said the German government’s transatlantic coordinator, Metin Hakverdi, at that time.
