A statement by US President-elect Donald Trump that NATO is "obsolete" has caused "worry" in the alliance, Germany's foreign minister has said, according to BBC News.
NATO worried by Trump’s ‘obsolete’ comment
STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 16, ARTSAKHPRESS: Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it was a contradiction of comments made days ago by Mr Trump's incoming defense chief.
In an interview in New York, Mr Trump also said Germany's Angela Merkel made "a catastrophic mistake" by admitting more than one million migrants.
And he threatened German car makers with high import tariffs.
Companies including BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler have invested in factories in Mexico, where costs are cheaper, with an eye to exporting into the US market.
But Mr Trump said: "I would tell them to not waste their time and money unless they want to sell to other countries. That would be ok, if you want to build in Mexico.
"I would tell BMW, if you want to build a factory in Mexico and sell cars to the US without paying a 35% tax, forget it."
Mr Trump was giving details of his foreign policy goals in an interview with British and German newspapers, the Times and Bild, at Trump Tower in New York.
Donald Trump's comments have caused dismay, concern - but perhaps not surprise - in Berlin. Few expected the new transatlantic relationship to echo the warm and trusting alliance nurtured by Angela Merkel and Barack Obama, who was a vocal supporter of Mrs Merkel's refugee policy.
There is anger, too. Germany's outspoken Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel retorted that the migrant crisis was the result of "faulty, interventionist American policies in the Mediterranean and Middle East".
That Mr Trump should take aim at Germany's car manufacturers has also raised eyebrows, though few here believe his congress would approve the 35% tax he appears to be threatening to impose on imported vehicles.
Germans were largely unimpressed by Mr Trump during his election campaign and now, despite his own German heritage, the president-elect is doing little to endear himself.
On NATO, Mr Trump reiterated his criticism that "a lot of" the 28 member states were not paying their fair share.
He said the alliance had been forged "many, many years ago", adding: "It's obsolete because it wasn't taking care of terror.
"And the other thing is the countries aren't paying their fair share so we're supposed to protect countries. But a lot of these countries aren't paying what they're supposed to be paying, which I think is very unfair to the United States."
In an apparent contradiction, Mr Trump then said NATO was "very important" to him.
