BERLIN, April 11. /TASS/. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on US President Donald Trump in a phone conversation on Monday to continue the Syrian settlement under the UN auspices and cooperate with Russia, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

"The Chancellor stressed that after the clear reaction of the US towards the awful incident with the usage of chemical weapons there is the need to do everything to continue political settlement under the UN auspices," Seibert said. "At the same time, cooperation with Russia has special importance for launching transitional political process," he said.

Seibert said the goal of these efforts is to "have a peaceful and stable Syria without (President Bashar) Assad at the helm."

Besides Syria, Merkel and Trump discussed North Korea’s nuclear program, he added.

The White House’s press service said earlier that the US president also held a phone conversation with British Prime Minister Theresa May. May and Merkel backed the US action and agreed with Trump "on the importance of holding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accountable," the statement said.