Leipzig, Germany - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday US President Barack Obama has opened "a window of opportunity."

Responding in the eastern city of Leipzig to the news Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize, she said, "He has managed in a short time to establish a new tone and a willingness to talk worldwide.

"We should all support him. He has opened a window of opportunity."

She said his nuclear-free aims were a target that ought to be achievable in the years to come.

"The award is definitely encouragement to the president, and to the rest of us as well," she said. (dpa)