ROUGH CUT. NO REPORTER NARRATION.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday (May 30) that Europe "must take our fate into our own hands" while hosting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Berlin for trade talks.
Germany wants to develop ties with India, though Merkel said this should not be at the cost of its relationship with the U.S., softening her stance from comments made over the weekend. "The transatlantic relationship is of enormous importance and what I said was simply indicating that given the current situation there are even more reasons for (strengthening ties with India)" she said.
On Sunday (May 28) the Chancellor had voiced concern about the state of relations with German allies, saying "the times when we could completely count on others, they are over to a certain extent. I have experienced this in the last few days".