BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The freedom of the press was a pillar of democracy and she had great respect for journalists, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference.
She made the remarks in response to questions from the press regrading the controversies linked to the U.S. President Donald Trump's approach to the media. The U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was also present at the event.
Merkel expressed concern over Russia engaging in hybrid warfare involving cyber attacks and spreading fake news, but stressed on the need to co-operate with the country to fight terrorism.
There was a need to strengthen multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, the NATO and the European Union and more efforts are required to intertwine military capabilities, Merkel said.
She urged the EU to focus on the genuinely important issues.
The German chancellor also said that there were rare instances in the past of such a positive atmosphere between France and German in terms of security co-operation. She also said German will do whatever possible to achieve the NATO defense spending target of 2 percent of gross domestic product.
Merkel also said that there was a need to defend the principle of territorial integrity. 'We cannot accept violations,' she added.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX