BERLIN (AP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman says the German leader had "very open" and wide-ranging talks with presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said in a statement Thursday that Merkel and Obama discussed foreign-policy issues including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East peace process.
Their talks also covered the trans-Atlantic economic partnership, climate and energy issues, the state of the global economy and "the need for cooperation on the international level and in international organizations to solve important global questions," the spokesman said.
Wilhelm says they stressed the "great significance of close and friendly German-American relations."