by Riya Teotia
Nov 11, 2024
Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to the US President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday (Nov 10) by phone and “agreed to work towards a return to peace in Europe,” chancellor’s spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said in a brief statement.
“Both exchanged views on the German-American relationship and the current geopolitical challenges,” Hebestreit said.
“The chancellor underlined the government’s willingness to continue the decades-long successful cooperation between the governments of both countries,” the statement read.
“They also agreed to work together towards a return to peace in Europe.”
This conversation comes as Scholz is mired in political crises and is set to face snap elections. The German Chancellor said on Sunday that he would be willing to call a vote of confidence in parliament before Christmas.
Scholz’s three-way coalition collapsed last week as disagreements grew over how much money the government should spend to encourage growth and support to Ukraine.
“I’m not clinging to my job,” he said in an interview on ARD television.
Now, with Trump back in the White House, who has been vocal about curtailing the finds to Ukraine, the president-elect will look forward to putting an end to the three-year-long war quickly.
During his campaign, Trump repeatedly vowed to end the Ukraine war quickly — even before he was sworn into office — but without detailing how.
Trump has also spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him not to escalate the war, the Washington Post reported earlier Sunday.
During his last term, Trump criticised NATO ally and Europe’s largest economy Germany for what he believed was insufficient spending as well as trade and other issues.
Scholz had already congratulated Trump on Wednesday and urged continued transatlantic ties as “we’re better off together” he told Trump in English.
“Together we can achieve much more than against each other,” added the centre-left leader of Germany.
Interestingly, Scholz criticised Trump as divisive during the US election campaign and openly expressed his preference for Biden.
Trump’s call with Scholz notably comes after the Republican spoke with several leaders of other European countries, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
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