Germany’s Scholz departs on inaugural trip to US for Ukraine talks

Berlin (dpa) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz departed on Sunday for his first visit to Washington since taking office, amid questions over Berlin’s commitment to its key US ally in the Ukraine crisis.

President Joe Biden is to welcome him to the White House on Monday.

In the United States, Germany has come under pressure to align itself more strongly with Washington’s position.

Doubts over the trans-Atlantic alliance have emerged due to Berlin’s adherence to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project with Russia, which the US and Eastern European nations have strongly criticized, as well as its reluctance to send arms to Ukraine.

Scholz, who was sworn in to succeed Angela Merkel as head of a new centre-left coalition government in December, has also been criticized at home for being elusive as Germany’s foreign policy towards Russia and Ukraine comes under scrutiny.

However, he recently said Germany’s allies “know exactly” what Berlin’s position is.

The German government has refused to accede to Kiev’s call for arms, a position that has put Scholz at odds with NATO partners.

Scholz stood firm in an interview before his departure, saying the majority of Germans see the issue in the same way.

“We do not deliver to places in crisis and … do not deliver lethal weapons to Ukraine,” he told the “Report from Berlin” TV programme.

In Washington, Scholz will also be asked to give a full and clear explanation of Germany’s position regarding Nord Stream 2. The Russia-to-Germany undersea pipeline is complete but has not gone into operation.

The US government on Sunday once again threatened Russia with the shutdown of the pipeline.

“If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another Nord Stream 2 will not move forward and Russia understands that we [have] co-ordinated with our allies,” Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told NBC.

Asked if Scholz would publicly pledge such a measure, Sullivan said: “I’ll let the German chancellor speak for himself.”

In his pre-departure interview, Scholz said Russia would pay a high price for attacking Ukraine but that everything must also be done “to give diplomacy a chance.”

Biden and Scholz are expected to take questions from the press after their Monday meeting. CNN, meanwhile, said it had arranged an exclusive US television interview with the German chancellor.

His visit to the US capital marks the beginning a diplomatic offensive aimed at de-escalating tensions with Russia, amid concerns surrounding the Russian troop build-up near the Ukrainian border and in Belarus.

After his US trip, Scholz is scheduled to meet French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish President Andrzej Duda in Berlin. On Thursday, the leaders of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are invited to the German capital for talks.

Talks under the so-called Normandy format – between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by Germany and France – are also planned for that day.

On February 14 and 15, Scholz is set to travel to Kiev and Moscow.

“Until now, the chancellor has been in first gear, now he is suddenly stepping on the gas and creating foreign policy in the space of 10 days,” Wolfgang Ischinger, a former German ambassador to the US and head of the Munich Security Conference, told dpa.

Leaders throughout Europe are intensifying their diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions after Moscow massed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders. More recently it has sent military aircraft to Belarus – which also borders Ukraine – for military exercises that are expected to involve thousands more Russian troops.

The military build-up has sparked concerns that the Kremlin could be planning an invasion of its neighbouring country, a former Soviet republic. Moscow denies having any such intentions.

Other observers have said the Russian side is seeking to stir up fears in order to persuade NATO to make concessions.

“We … do not know what President [Vladimir] Putin’s intention is with these troops,” Eberhard Zorn, inspector general of Germany’s Bundeswehr forces, told dpa.

The nation’s top-ranking soldier said Russia was bolstering its military activities at sea, in the air and in cyberspace as well as on land.

“Every opportunity for diplomatic negotiations with the Russian side must be used. Two-way talks, whether bilateral or in groups, are the name of the game for easing this dangerous situation.”