Russia news: Angela Merkel SHUTS DOWN Donald Trump and DEFENDS Russia ties | World | News

Mrs Merkel insisted it would be wrong to sever ties with with the Kremlin and urged world leaders work together to tackle global problems. Mr Trump has accused Germany of being a “captive” of Russia due to its reliance on Russian energy. But speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Mrs Merkel defended plans for a new gas pipeline from Russia to Germany that has come under severe criticism from the White House.

She said: “If during the Cold War we imported large amounts of Russian gas, I don’t know why times should be so much worse today that we can say: Russia remains a partner.

“Do we want to make Russia only dependent on China? Is that our European interest? I don’t think so either.”

During a question and answer session before an audience which included Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka, Mrs Merkel said it would be wrong to exclude Russia politically.

She said: ”Geostrategically, Europe can’t have an interest in cutting off all relations with Russia.”

Mr Trump has frequently criticised the large trade surplus that Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, has with the US and has threatened to put tariffs on German cars in return.

But Mrs Merkel said: “We are proud of our cars and so we should be.

“Many are built in the United States and exported to China.

“If that is viewed as a security threat to the United States, then we are shocked.”

Mrs Merkel appealed for global co-operation on a range of issues from dealing with Iran to preventing another migrant crisis.

Responding to the question on international relations posed by the conference organisers – “The Great Puzzle: Who Will Pick Up the Pieces?” – Mrs Merkel responded to loud applause: “Only all of us together.”

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde was among those who stood up to applaud the German leader.