( CNN ) -- After U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed hot-button issues like America 's surveillance programs during his visit to Berlin on Wednesday , the leaders addressed them with reporters . Obama visited Germany , the United States ' largest European trading partner , after attending a G8 conference earlier this week in Northern Ireland . Below is a quick look at what Obama said Wednesday -- a few hours before he spoke to the public at Berlin 's Brandenburg Gate -- on European concerns about U.S. surveillance programs , Russia 's disagreement with the United States over Syria , and more : . 1 ) Germany still leery about U.S. surveillance . Merkel and Obama discussed Germany 's concerns about the U.S. PRISM program , which monitors e-mails , photos , search histories and other data from American-based Internet companies . Merkel told reporters that she appreciates U.S. cooperation with Germany on cybersecurity , but will continue to discuss with U.S. officials the `` question of balance or proportionality '' of government snooping on the Internet . Obama stressed that `` this is not a situation in which we are rifling through the ordinary e-mails of German citizens or American citizens , '' but that it 's a `` circumscribed , narrow system , directed at us being able to protect our people , and all of it is done under the oversight of the courts . '' The programs have stopped threats , he said -- including some in Germany . Obama said when he gets back home , he 'll try to declassify more information about the programs and have officials `` work very closely with our German intelligence counterparts so that they have clarity and assurance that they are not being abused . '' 2 ) Obama not shaken by halt in Afghan talks . A reporter asked Obama how the United States and Afghan President Hamid Karzai could seemingly be on different pages , after Karzai on Wednesday shelved security talks with the United States amid friction over planned U.S. peace talks with the Taliban in Qatar . Obama did n't seem rattled . `` We had anticipated that at the outset there were going to be some areas of friction , to put it mildly , in getting this thing of the ground , '' he said . The Taliban and other Afghans have `` been fighting for a very long time . There 's enormous mistrust . '' `` I think President Karzai himself recognizes the need for political reconciliation . The challenge is , how do you get those things started while you 're also at war ? My hope is ... that despite those challenges , the process will proceed . '' 3 ) On Russia 's support for Syria 's president . Obama was asked how peace could ever come to Syria when the United States and its allies support the opposition while Russia supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad . Obama did n't dispute the premise that Russia and America are backing opposite sides , but chose to highlight what they publicly hold in common : A desire for peace talks in Geneva . Obama said Russian President Vladimir Putin `` believes what would replace Assad is worse than Assad himself . '' `` ( But ) what I think will become more and more apparent in the coming weeks and months is that without a different government , you ca n't bring peace , and in fact you 're going to see sectarian divisions get worse and worse , '' Obama said . 4 ) We still love you , Europe . Obama talked up negotiations for a new trans-Atlantic trade pact between the United States and the European Union . And he took the opportunity to allay concerns that the United States might be taking Europe for granted while it courts countries in Asia . `` I know that here in Germany , sometimes there has been talk that the trans-Atlantic alliance is fading in importance , that the United States has turned its attention more towards Asia and the Pacific , '' Obama said . `` In both conversations with Chancellor Merkel and earlier with your president , I reminded them that from our perspective , the relationship with Europe remains the cornerstone of our freedom and our security -- that Europe is our partner in almost everything that we do . '' If the free-trade negotiations succeed , he said , `` we can grow economies on both sides of the Atlantic , create jobs , improve efficiency , ( and ) improve productivity and our competitiveness around the world . '' 5 ) No counterterorrism drones launched from Germany , Obama says . Obama , asked about America 's use of unmanned drones to target terror suspects , reiterated what he 's said in recent weeks : that the United States is thinking carefully about how it uses the technology . Interestingly , he made it a point to say that the United States does n't launch drones from Germany for counterterrorism efforts . `` I can say though that we do not use Germany as a launching point for unmanned drones ... as part of our counterterrorism activities . There have been some reports here in Germany that that might be the case , but that is not , '' he said . In Berlin , Obama calls for reducing U.S. , Russian nuclear stockpiles .
Obama , after talking to Merkel about U.S. policy , says he 'll try to declassify more info . On Russia in talks with U.S. , Obama says friction not surprising . He expresses hope that ` ` despite those challenges the talks will proceed '' Obama also discusses differences with Putin on Ukraine .