Olaf Scholz travels to the USA to talk to Joe Biden.
The main topic is the Ukraine war - recently there have been tensions between the partners.
Washington, DC - Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is traveling to the United States from Thursday to Saturday (March 2 to 4) to hold a one-on-one meeting with US President Joe Biden.
The meeting in the White House on Friday will focus primarily on joint support for Kiev in the Ukraine war.
It is Scholz's second visit to Washington DC as chancellor: at the beginning of February 2022 he flew to the USA for his inaugural visit.
In recent months, the impression of differences of opinion between the USA and Germany has repeatedly arisen.
This time the chancellor has no journalists from Berlin with him - and there will be no press conference either.
This is atypical for such a working visit, which is usually covered by the media.
The Chancellor wanted to use the time in the White House "as grossly as possible," said his spokesman Steffen Hebestreit as justification.
But that is not an indication of possible problems in the transatlantic relationship: "I have the feeling that the German-American relationship is very good," asserted Hebestreit.
Ukraine war: main battle tank delivery only under pressure from Germany?
USA dissatisfied
Against this background, there is a lot to talk about at Scholz and Biden.
Among other things, there was a lot of crunching on the subject of battle tanks for Ukraine - and just a few days ago, Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan tore open wounds that had barely healed.
Sullivan said in a television interview on Sunday (February 26) with surprising frankness that the United States had only promised Ukraine Abrams-type main battle tanks because otherwise Germany would not have provided Leopard 2 tanks.
The topic had caused transatlantic upsets in January.
According to media reports, Scholz made it clear to Biden in a telephone call that Germany would only supply Leopard 2 tanks if the United States provided Ukraine with Abrams main battle tanks, which Washington actually considers militarily unsuitable in the Ukraine war.
Berlin denied this representation: There was never such a link, said government spokesman Hebestreit.
However, the US side was anything but enthusiastic that it appeared publicly that they were being put under pressure by Germany.
Tank disagreements with Biden: Trouble for Scholz?
Now on TV Sunday, Sullivan sounded like Biden had nudged a stubborn partner in the right direction.
"The Germans have told the President that they are not ready to send these Leopards into battle (...) until the President agrees to send Abrams," Biden's top national security adviser told
ABC
.
"The President said, 'Okay, I'm going to be the leader of the free world.
I will send Abrams in the future if you send Leopards now.'”
In view of this, Biden could still have a word to talk to the Chancellor.
Jörn Fleck from the think tank Atlantic Council believes that the US government will make clear its “dissatisfaction” with the German approach.
In principle, however, both governments are largely in line with the "significant support for Ukraine".
“Both understand that there is no alternative to supporting Ukraine.
At the same time, both are cautious - too cautious, in the eyes of some - of a possible escalation with Russia.”
Scholz in the USA: China is also an important topic
In the future, lessons learned from the tank dispute could help avoid similar conflicts, said Jeffrey Rathke, president of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) in Washington.
Because close coordination between Berlin and Washington in the Ukraine war will continue to be of the utmost importance for the foreseeable future, for example in the implementation of tank deliveries, other weapons aid and the question of a possible future delivery of combat aircraft.
"For this White House, most routes to Europe lead through Berlin," says Fleck.
"For Scholz and his chancellorship, all paths of support for Ukraine lead through Washington."
Tanks, drones, anti-aircraft defenses: weapons for Ukraine
Tanks, drones, anti-aircraft defenses: weapons for Ukraine
In addition to Western support for Ukraine, other security issues should also be discussed.
Close coordination of decisions in the Chancellery and the White House is also essential when dealing with China, which is also playing an increasingly important role in the war.
According to a report, the US is in talks with close Western allies about the possibility of new sanctions against China.
Several government officials told the Reuters
news agency that these are measures to be taken in the event that China provides military support to Russia in the war against Ukraine
.
China's position in the Ukraine war seems opaque at the moment.
(ale)
