German FM comments on Floyd protests in US

Germany's foreign minister on Tuesday said that peaceful protests in the United States following the death of George Floyd were "understandable and more than legitimate".

Heiko Maas said his thoughts were with the friends and family of Floyd, who "lost his life in a truly terrible and shocking way, or one should say it was taken from him".

Speaking in Berlin, Maas said that peaceful protests must always be possible, but said he hoped that they did not "continue to lead to violence".

He went on to "express the hope that these protests have an effect in the United States".

Floyd died last week after he was pinned down by a white police officer in Minneapolis who put his knee on the handcuffed black man’s neck until he stopped breathing.

His death set off protests that spread across the United States, some turning violent.