Scholz, Trump Discuss US-German Cooperation, Peace in Europe

Michael Nienaber and Tony Czuczka
·1-min read

(Bloomberg) -- Chancellor Olaf Scholz told US President-elect Donald Trump that Germany is ready to continue “decades of successful cooperation” between the two countries.

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During their telephone call Sunday, they also “agreed to work jointly for a return to peace in Europe,” Scholz’s chief spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, said in an emailed statement, in a reference to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Scholz also explained that Germany has ramped up defense spending and this year will meet NATO’s goal of investing at least 2% of economic output on defense for the first time in decades, according to people familiar with the conversation, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential talks.

US-German relations were often fraught during Trump’s first term between 2017 and 2021, when Angela Merkel was German chancellor. She became a foil for the president during friction over issues including trade and military spending within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Scholz and Trump spoke late Sunday for roughly 25 minutes on the phone, Hebestreit told reporters at Monday’s regular government news conference in Berlin, adding that “it was a very friendly and very constructive conversation.”

While Trump did not reveal who might become the next US ambassador to Germany, he mentioned that the nation was the country of his ancestors, Hebestreit said.

Spokespeople for Trump’s team didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

--With assistance from Stephanie Lai.

(Updates with additional details starting in third paragraph.)

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