Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman says Berlin is still committed to strengthening trans-Atlantic relations after Merkel suggested Europe can no longer entirely rely on the U.S.

Merkel's comments Sunday came after a Group of Seven summit at which the Europeans couldn't reach agreement on climate change with President Donald Trump. She said: "The times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the past few days."

Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert said Monday Merkel's comments stand for themselves but the German leader is "a convinced trans-Atlanticist." He said German-U.S. relations "are a strong pillar of our foreign and security policy, and Germany will continue working to strengthen these relations."

Seibert added that "precisely because they are so important, it's right to name differences honestly."