There will be no state dinners, no press entourage, and no much fanfare.
On a two-day visit to Washington to see President Biden, German Chancellor
Olaf Scholz
wants to get straight to the point.
What many ask in Berlin is what it is about.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and US President Joe Biden arrive for the official welcoming ceremony for the G7 summit at the Elmau castle in Kruen, near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, on 26 March. June 2022. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
"What is the purpose of your trip to Washington today?
Why are you traveling there?
I should have explained it here," Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany's main opposition party, the Christian Democrats, told Scholz in a speech in the German parliament on Thursday.
The chancellor's press office only published a one-line statement announcing the visit to Washington before the trip:
The two leaders will discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine a year later and Western support for kyiv.
The secretive nature of the visit - with no traveling press invited, no press conferences, and not even an outline of his plans in his speech to the German Parliament before his trip - has led some within Berlin foreign policy circles to to wonder if it is a reflection of a
growing sense of urgency
, on both sides of the Atlantic, to find a new road map to end the conflict in Ukraine.
"I think we are in a difficult moment, because the endgame question is getting stronger, bigger and more important in the United States, but also in Europe," said Ulrich Speck, a German foreign policy analyst.
"So I think it's a year later and looking back, it's also looking forward, and to the question:
How will this end?"
Goals
Spokesmen for Mr. Scholz claim that the subdued nature of the trip is an "exception", but have stressed that it is not a reflection of any serious situation, but simply the "
business focus
" of the visit.
Nils Schmid, foreign policy spokesman in Parliament for Mr Scholz's centre-left Social Democrats, rejected the idea that the talks would focus on an "end game".
"Foreign policy is always about scenarios, and of course, they will go through these different scenarios," he said.
"But the idea is to make a real working visit. It's not a state visit. It's really sitting down together, putting all the cards on the table, weighing the options, sharing assessments and having a very free debate without being forced to produce any immediate result in any of the files."
But there is growing speculation in Europe and Washington that, despite public declarations that they would back Kiev "for as long as necessary," as Scholz has put it, some Western leaders have begun to worry about how long a strong front and unified.
European leaders are concerned about the outcome of support for Ukraine in next year's US presidential election, with sections of the Republican Party skeptical of military support for Kiev.
And nearly all Western leaders worry that their populations will tire of sustained and costly support for Ukraine, especially as the war exposes many deficiencies in their own countries, from military readiness to energy supplies.
In Berlin, a protest against military support for Ukraine drew 13,000 people on Saturday, according to police, reflecting the fact that a significant part of the German population remains wary of Western involvement in the war.
Trying to find a balance between that internal mistrust and calls by European allies for Germany to provide bolder military support to Ukraine, Scholz made a measured statement reaffirming his support for Ukraine before leaving for Washington.
"The majority of citizens want our country to continue supporting Ukraine," he said.
"And do it as we have done since the beginning of the war: decisively, in a balanced way and in close coordination with our friends and partners."
Another item on the agenda may be Iran, the lawmakers said, because Germany has come under
increasing pressure
from Israel to address reports that Iran has been temporarily increasing uranium enrichment.
In turn, Germany is concerned about the rule of law in Israel under its new right-wing government, and may want to discuss it with Washington as well, Schmid said.
China
is also expected to be talked about,
not least because Washington has warned that it believes Beijing is considering sending weapons to Russia.
Scholz made sure to warn against such shipments in his parliamentary speech, though Germany has yet to receive proof of this, according to lawmakers.
In his speech to Parliament, Scholz also praised the transatlantic relationship as "closer and more trusting than ever before."
However, the nature of that relationship may also have to change, some observers warn.
Until now, Scholz has been adamant that every step Germany takes in providing military support to repel the Russian invasion will be done in coordination with its allies, but above all with Washington.
This stance came under heavy pressure last month when Washington and European allies pressured Germany to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
The chancellor only agreed to the proposal when Washington also promised to send some of its sophisticated
Abrams tanks,
despite US military objections that the vehicles would be of no use to Ukraine.
Consensus
Germany has described the plan as a joint agreement between the nations.
But a week before the chancellor's visit, Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security adviser, suggested in an interview with ABC News that the move had been taken by the president to placate the Germans.
"In the interest of alliance unity, and to make sure Ukraine got what it wanted, even though the Abrams are not the tool they need, the president said, okay, I'm going to be the leader of the free world. I'll send Abrams later if you send Leopard now," Sullivan said.
"And this is actually an example of
Joe Biden
bringing together the global coalition to get Ukraine what it needs."
The remarks immediately reignited the debate in Berlin about whether Washington had felt compelled to agree to something it did not want to do.
Scholz's spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, dismissed the idea:
"I find it hard to imagine a German chancellor dictating conditions or making demands on an American president."
Sudha David-Wilp, director of the Berlin office of the
German Marshall Fund,
an American think tank, said that while she did not interpret the statement as an attempt to prod the chancellor, it may be "a sign that this kind of cover cannot be last forever."
"These types of transactions may not be something Germany can depend on in the future," he said.
"The United States also wants to encourage Germany to act in coordination with its European allies," he added, without the need for Washington to join.
This may not be something that Scholz, who has always expressed a desire to work in unison with Washington, is willing to accept.
However, officials from both countries say the working relationship between the two leaders is good.
"In foreign policy, they are very similar," Schmid said.
"So I think on a personal level, they really like to chat, to sit together and talk and think things through."
c.2023 The New York Times Company
look also
The power of art in the political age
Russia-Ukraine war, LIVE: Putin's government warns that it will "take measures" to prevent Ukrainian incursions
