Scholz says a joint Ukraine approach can be found with Trump

7/12/2024 12:08

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is confident he will be able to agree with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on a joint strategy for Ukraine after speaking to him on the phone, Scholz told the Funke group of newspapers.



"I am confident that we can develop a joint strategy for Ukraine. My guiding principle remains that nothing can be decided without giving the Ukrainian people a say," he told the paper in an interview.



He added he had spoken with the future U.S. president "in detail" and that his team was in a direct exchange with Trump's security advisers.



Ukraine is shaping up as a major issue in campaigning for Germany's snap election in February, which follows the collapse last month of Scholz's three-party governing coalition in Berlin.



Friedrich Merz, the conservative opposition leader who is on course to unseat Scholz, has said Germany should send Taurus cruise missiles. Scholz has opposed such a move, saying it could escalate the war.



Scholz on Monday announced new military aid for Ukraine during a rare visit to Kyiv that he said sent a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Berlin would stand by Kyiv for as long as needed in the war.