Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas (SPD) arrives for the weekly government cabinet meeting | Michele Tantussi/Getty Images Germany’s foreign minister slams Trump’s ‘one-sided’ foreign policy Donald Trump’s ‘damaging’ policies are making the world less safe, says Heiko Maas.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Friday accused Donald Trump of knowingly pursuing policies that have an immediate "damaging effect" on Europe and called on leaders to rally behind a common European response.

In a critical interview with German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung published Friday, Maas took aim at Trump's "one-sided" foreign policy and warned that "none of this will make the world better, safer or more peaceful."

International agreements struck with the United States are "no longer reliable," Maas said, referring to Trump's controversial decisions to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the European Union and pull out from the Paris climate accords.

Trump is turning his back on the multilateral order and pursuing "one-sided interests" that place one country above another, Maas said.

Maas' comments come at a time of heightened tension between the U.S. and Europe, as leaders meet in Canada for an annual G7 summit at which they are struggling to agree on common ambitions for the international order.

The senior German Social Democrat warned that differences "can no longer be swept under the carpet," but also insisted the U.S. remained Germany's closest ally outside Europe.

The only answer to Trump's "America First" policies is "Europe United," Maas told the German paper. "Europe is being challenged, not only Germany; we therefore need a European answer."

Europe needs "to be able to act and react better and faster" to foreign policy and security challenges, and make efforts to forge new alliances with countries outside the bloc that want to "uphold the multilateral world order," he added.