Berlin, 31 January 2026 (dpa/MIA) - German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has called on European countries to be confident in their dealings with the US government.

The minister told the RND media group that it would be a mistake "if we stared at the White House like a rabbit staring at a snake. Then we would lose focus on what we need to do: Become more sovereign and independent."

US President Donald Trump relies on uncertainty and fear to achieve his goals.

"But those who are afraid to make the wrong decisions. So let's not allow ourselves to be intimidated," Pistorius said, referring to European governments' resistance to Trump's aggressive push for the United States to take control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory belonging to Denmark.

No doubt about NATO's common ground

The US needs Europe just as much as Europe needs the US, Pistorius stressed. Europe is of geostrategic and geoeconomic importance to Washington.

"Imagine if Europe were to become Russia's sphere of influence if [Russian President] Vladimir Putin succeeded in driving the Americans out of here or causing them to withdraw. Then the US would be sandwiched between Russia and China. That would certainly not be in the Americans' interest."

When asked about the importance of the US Air Force base in Ramstein in western Germany, the minister said that it was the most important US Air Force base outside the US and played "a very central role for the US armed forces, for example with regard to operations in the Middle East."

When asked whether Germany also had the potential to pose a threat, Pistorius said: "My point is to make it clear that the US also has an interest in our close partnership."

The Defence Minister said he still had no doubts about a common basis within NATO. There were also no signs that the US wanted to leave the defence alliance.

Photo: dpa