BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed on the need to quickly resolve trade disputes in a phone call on Thursday evening, a German government spokesperson said.

The two leaders also agreed on the need to closely cooperate with the aim of ending the war in Ukraine, the spokesperson said.

“President Trump congratulated the Chancellor on taking office” earlier this week, the spokesperson said. “Chancellor Merz assured the American President that, 80 years after the end of the Second World War, the United States remains an indispensable friend and partner of Germany.

(Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Leslie Adler)