Donald Trump's actions have 'weakened' the West and hurt European interests, says German foreign minister

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Donald Trump's "short-sighted" policies have "weakened the West" and hurt European interests, the German Foreign Minister has said.

Sigmar Gabriel said the President's administration was unlikely to do much to tackle the causes of the refugee crisis, climate change, wars and persecution.

It comes after Angela Merkel suggested Germany and Europe can no longer rely on the US under Mr Trump.

The German Chancellor went on to say: “We Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands.”

Mr Gabriel went on to refer to the "loss of the US as an important nation" and said while it was important to maintain dialogue with Washington, Europe needed to become stronger and Germany needed to be more prepared to work with its European Union peers.

He said if the Trump administration "finds pushing through national interests more important than an international order... then I say that the West has become smaller — it has at least become weaker."

"Anyone who accelerates climate change by weakening environmental protection, who sells more weapons in conflict zones and who does not want to politically resolve religious conflicts is putting peace in Europe at risk".

Mr Trump hit back at Ms Merkel's recent comments about the unreliability of the US as a partner.

In a tweet, the US President said America had a "massive trade deficit with Germany" and warned: "This will change."

Mr Trump has also been denounced as a "security risk for the West" by Thomas Opperman, the leader of the Social Democrats (SDP).

He said the US President and his administration "chatter too much" and could give critical information to Russia.

He added: “This is a dangerous situation. It cannot continue as it is. This endangers the information exchange and can be dangerous for both sides."