Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Europe

France, Germany unite in face of Trump refugee ban

By Fox News
Published | Updated
  • 6b7be579-
    Image 1 of 3

    In this Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 photo, released by the French Foreign ministry, French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, right, greets his newly appointed German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel, before talks at the French Foreign Ministry in Paris, France. (Frederic de la Mure/French Foreign Ministry via AP) (The Associated Press)

  • 9435fbdf-
    Image 2 of 3

    In this Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 photo, released by the French Foreign ministry, French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, left, greets his newly appointed German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel, before talks at the French Foreign Ministry in Paris, France. (Frederic de la Mure/French Foreign Ministry via AP) (The Associated Press)

  • 8f3e3c37-
    Image 3 of 3

    In this Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 photo, released by the French Foreign ministry, French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, left, greets his newly appointed German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel, before talks at the French Foreign Ministry in Paris, France. (Frederic de la Mure/French Foreign Ministry via AP) (The Associated Press)

France and Germany formed a united front on Saturday following the announcement of President Donald Trump's travel ban.

A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel says the German leader believes the Trump’s travel ban on people from some Muslim-majority countries is wrong.

After meeting on Saturday, the foreign ministers of both nations, Jean-Marc Ayrault and Germany's Sigmar Gabriel, said they hope to meet with the Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson.

Ayrault said Trump's order on Friday that banning refugees "can only worry us."

"We have signed international obligations, so welcoming refugees fleeing war and oppression forms part of our duties," the French minister said.

"There are many other issues that worry us," he added. "That is why Sigmar and I also discussed what we are going to do. When our colleague, Tillerson, is officially appointed, we will both contact him."

Gabriel said offering refuge to the persecuted are western values that Europe and the United States share.

"Love thy neighbor is part of this tradition, the act of helping others," he said. "This unites us, we Westerners. And I think that this remains a common foundation that we share with the United States, one we aim to promote."

Trump said the ban was necessary in preventing "radical Islamic terrorists" from entering the U.S.

Merkel and Trump spoke on Saturday for the first time since his inauguration. No mention of the travel ban or refugees was mentioned in their joint U.S.-German statement following the call.

Germany's dpa news agency quoted Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert saying Sunday that "she is convinced that even the necessary, resolute fight against terrorism doesn't justify putting people of a particular origin or particular faith under general suspicion."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.